The request, which was heard in Vancouver Jan. 20, was part of legal challenge to their removal from office.

The ousted councillors' lawyer, Chris Harvey of Vancouver, says the Federal Court decided the receiver/manager was unnecessary since the accounts of the band are frozen, except for regular payroll. The freeze order was issued Jan. 10 by the court.

As a result of the Jan. 20 hearing, the court ordered a strict pre-hearing schedule to deal with the challenge by the councillors, says Harvey.

The lawyer says the court is attempting to set a hearing for Feb. 27 in Edmonton.

Harvey says it is hard to say how long it will take for a decision to be given, once a hearing is held. "It could be given off the bench."

That's because the issue is simply whether an election without advance notice is valid, he explains.

The councillors were removed at a Nov. 3 special meeting, which they called to discuss the status of Chief Victor Marie. The former councillors had previously voted to remove Marie from office.

At the Jan. 20 hearing, the Federal Court agreed to wording in the legal proceedings stating Marie to be the "uncontested chief."

"I'm sure hoping that things will be over soon so things can move ahead, instead of all the fighting we doing now," he says.

Since the matter is before the courts, Marie says there is not too much about the case he can discuss, "although I'd like to."