MONTREAL – Canada’s top court has ruled that a debt owed by a Montreal-area Mohawk community to a Quebec lawyer still stands after more than two decades.
The Mohawk Council of Kanesatake owes around $2 million to the lawyer and a group of experts for work they did between 2001 and 2003 to help the community fight a mine project in Oka, Que.
The council has never paid the bill, which it says was more than it could afford, and it argued in court that the time limit for the lawyer to collect the money had expired.
But the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in a unanimous decision today that the lawyer has taken the appropriate steps to preserve his right to the money.
The decision clarifies the rules around how creditors can collect on debts in Quebec.
The council has said it has little hope of paying off the debt, which is now worth roughly three times its original amount including interest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2025.
