Rejected Qalipu applicants go before judge to argue against decision

Two people who hoped to become members of the Qalipu Mi'kmaq band are finally getting their day in court.

One applicant was rejected because he didn't provide a long-form birth certificate, and the other because he failed to sign one of the declaration boxes on the application.

• Qalipu Mi'kmaq membership guidelines confuse applicants
• New Qalipu bill would give feds too much power: Gerry Byrne

Both will be getting judicial reviews from a federal judge on Tuesday.

Jaimie Lickers, the lawyer representing the two men, argues the reasons for rejecting the applications are simply not valid.

"These are technical irregularities that do not in any way speak to the applicant's Mi'kmaq ancestry or their connection to a Mi'kmaq community or their acceptance by a Mi'kmaq community," she told CBC's Central Morning Show.

Lickers said the applicants weren't notified of any problems or given any chance to correct them, and they had no chance to appeal the enrolment committee's decision.

The two applicants and their descendents could be denied Aboriginal rights and status if they're refused enrolment in the band.

"By disentitling individuals for technical irregularities, they're removing otherwise worthy members from band membership," she said.

"That can't be what the parties intended when they negotiated this agreement."