Fort Smith (Mar 01/04) - The court battle over a proposed winter road through Wood Buffalo National Park is not over.

The lawyer for Fort Chipewyan's Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN) says a recent ruling of the Federal Court concerning the road will be appealed.

"It is definitely going to the Supreme Court of Canada," says Jeffrey Roth, the legal counsel for the band.

The Thebacha Road Society is still hoping the Mikisew Cree will not appeal the ruling.

"We're looking forward to going ahead with the road," says Richard Power, the project co-ordinator with the society.

Power notes there is a 60-day period for an appeal from the date of the ruling.

The 2001 injunction had stopped construction of the 118-km route between Peace Point and Garden River as it was about to begin.

On Feb. 13, the Federal Court of Canada quashed a 2001 injunction against the project it had granted to the Mikisew Cree.

However, Roth sees positive signs in the appeal ruling, noting none of the three judges said the Mikisew Cree rights in the park were "unextinguished."

The lawyer also notes a weak majority believed the road fell under the so-called "taking up" provision of Treaty 8, which allows park land to be used for other purposes.

Roth also notes all three judges found that the consultation process was not appropriate.

Aside from the legal arguments, Roth says there are no compelling reasons to build the winter road.

"Basically, it was being built on a whim."

The federal Department of Canadian Heritage, which is responsible for Parks Canada, appealed the Federal Court's granting of the injunction in late 2001.

The MCFN obtained the injunction after arguing its treaty rights had been violated because it had not been properly consulted on the road project.