A team of lawyers representing St. Theresa Point First Nation in a landmark case regarding housing and water rights has been honoured with a national award. On May 5, 2026, Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP and McCarthy Tétrault LLP were named Commercial Litigation Team of the Year at the 2026 Canadian Law Awards for their work on Shamattawa First Nation v. Canada, which confirmed the federal government’s legal duty to provide safe drinking water on reserve.
The legal victory stems from rulings issued on December 5, 2025, by Federal Court Justice Paul Favel. In the case of St. Theresa Point First Nation v. Canada, the court found that the federal government has a legal duty to take reasonable measures to ensure access to adequate housing on reserve. This was the first time a Canadian court has recognized such an obligation. In a companion case, Shamattawa First Nation v. Canada, the court also ruled that the government has a fiduciary duty and a common law duty of care to provide safe drinking water to First Nations communities.
For residents of St. Theresa Point, a remote community in northeastern Manitoba, these legal developments are significant. With approximately 5,000 residents living in roughly 500 homes, current estimates suggest that one in every four houses in the community is uninhabitable. Chief Emeritus Elvin Flett has stated that the court’s decision confirms that the federal government is responsible for the infrastructure gap that has left many community members in difficult living conditions.
The court also found that sections 2, 7, and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are engaged in these cases, and that special circumstances may give rise to positive obligations on Canada to protect those rights. While these rulings mark a major shift in legal accountability, the process remains ongoing. The federal government filed a notice of appeal on January 5, 2026, seeking to overturn the decision related to safe drinking water. As the cases continue through the legal system, they represent a path toward potentially improving access to clean water and housing support for many First Nations across the country.
