About the Procedures

Pursuant to section 16 of the Specific Claims Tribunal Act, SC 2008, c 22, a First Nation may file a claim with the Specific Claims Tribunal (Tribunal) if the claim has been previously filed with the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and if: 

• the Minister has notified the First Nation of the decision not to negotiate the claim;
• three years have elapsed after the day on which the claim was filed with the Minister without a decision to negotiate; 
• the Minister consents to it during the course of negotiating a claim; or,
• three years have elapsed after the day on which the Minister has notified the First Nation in writing of the decision to negotiate the claim, in whole or in part, and the claim has not been resolved by a final settlement agreement.

A claim before the Tribunal is initiated when a First Nation files, using the Tribunal’s E-Filing application, a Declaration of Claim pursuant to Part 5 of the Specific Claims Tribunal Rules of Practice and Procedure, SOR/2011-119 [Rules]:

• The Declaration of Claim must contain the elements set out in Rule 41 and Practice Direction No. 1, and service should be made in compliance with Rule 40 and Practice Directions No. 2 and 9. 
• Rule 39 specifies that the Declaration of Claim must not contain any evidence. 
• Further to Rule 17 and Practice Directions No. 5 and 9, all parties must submit their documents electronically in PDF (Portable Document Format) through the Tribunal’s E-filing application. 

Please see the section on Forms and Templates to access the Declaration of Claim template to assist  in the preparation of a claim.