Simon's Legal Resources

Federal Court - Interpretation

. Dumais Estate v. Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development)

In Dumais Estate v. Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development) (Fed CA, 2026) the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal, here where the "Federal Court found that it did not have jurisdiction to entertain the appellants’ action against Kehewin under either subsection 17(4) [SS: 'Conflicting claims against Crown'] or (5) [SS: 'Relief in favour of Crown or against officer'] of the Federal Courts Act".

Here the court alludes to the constitutional basis of the Federal Court system [Constitution Act, 1867, s.101], and Federal Court Act statutory interpretation:

[26] .... the Federal Courts owe their existence to a statute enacted pursuant to section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867, 30 & 31 Vict., c. 3, and, unlike provincial superior courts, are not courts of inherent jurisdiction. As the Supreme Court observed in Roberts v. Canada, 1989 CanLII 122 (SCC), [1989] 1 S.C.R. 322 [Roberts] at 331, and as the majority later cited in Windsor (City) v. Canadian Transit Co., 2016 SCC 54 [Windsor] at para. 33, "“the language of the [""Federal Courts Act] is completely determinative of the scope of the Court’s jurisdiction”".