Court hears Innu call for injunction to block Muskrat Falls rate mitigation deal

A Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court judge will soon decide whether to temporarily block the finalization of the Muskrat Falls rate mitigation deal.

Ottawa and the Newfoundland and Labrador government reached a framework agreement-in-principle on rate mitigation for the troubled hydro megaproject earlier this summer.

But Labrador Innu say they were not properly consulted, and the agreement will hurt them financially.

The Innu have filed a lawsuit, and are in court this week asking for an interim injunction to prevent the final agreements from going through, pending the results of a trial.

The feds and the province are being accused of breaching the Crown's fiduciary duties to the Innu, breaching the duty to consult and accommodate, and breaching the honour of the Crown.

On Wednesday morning, a senior provincial government official faced cross-examination.

John Cowan, the deputy minister of industry, energy and technology, was pressed about the level of consultation the province had with the Innu.