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       Innu Nation Grand Chief Etienne Rich, Deputy Grand Chief Mary Ann Nui and Chief Eugene Hart of the Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation stand outside the provincial Supreme Court building in St. John's on Aug. 10, 2021. The group filed a lawsuit against the provincial and federal governments in relation to the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.

       Greg Locke/The Canadian Press

       Labrador’s Innu Nation says it has launched a lawsuit against Ottawa and the Newfoundland and Labrador government over a recent $5.2-billion deal involving the troubled Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.

       The Innu Nation said today in a news release the federal and provincial governments took “direct, deliberate and decisive action” to eliminate financial benefits promised to the Innu people, as the Muskrat Falls project is being built on their land.

       They say they were left out of negotiations pertaining to the agreement in principle announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month that would offset the costs of the project, which have essentially doubled since it was sanctioned in 2012.

       The news release says the nation asked Trudeau and Premier Andrew Furey to give them a seat at the negotiating table, to provide the project’s financial modelling and to commit to revising the agreement.

       Grand Chief Etienne Rich says neither leader provided a satisfactory response, leaving the Innu Nation with no other option but to go to court.

       The Innu Nation says it filed paperwork with the provincial Supreme Court on Tuesday, and both Trudeau and Furey were told about the suit on Monday.

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