@cowtowncoyote: Alberta Separation Second Alberta First Nation seeks asset freezing order against separatist lawyer The Sturgeon Lake Cree First Nation is seeking to remove Jeffrey Rath as the overseer of its trust fund A second Alberta First Nation is poised to secure a freezing order against separatist lawyer Jeffrey Rath amid questions regarding his oversight of its trust funds, including more than $12 million in withdrawals that the band learned of only last month. Article content Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation (SLCN) Chief Sheldon Sunshine is seeking to remove Rath as trustee of the band’s trust fund that he has overseen since 2017, alleging underpayments, lack of financial disclosure, and “rude treatment by the staff at Rath & Co.,” according to Sunshine’s affidavit filed with the court last month. In court documents, SLCN claims it learned in July that Rath’s professional corporation had withdrawn $12.8 million from the trust since May of 2023 without notice or approval. content “The nature and extent of the amounts taken by RathCo were unprecedented and undisclosed and appear designed to benefit RathCo and Rath at the expense of the trust’s vulnerable beneficiaries, many of whom are children,” reads a written submission from SLCN’s lawyers submitted Monday. Article content SLCN is seeking to freeze $42.4 million of Rath’s assets. Article content On Tuesday, SLCN lawyers and a representative for Rath’s professional corporation agreed to an interim order that freezes an unspecified amount of Rath’s assets and temporarily removes him from his role as trustee as the band seeks details on the status of its trust fund. Article content Calgary Court of King’s Bench Justice Allison Kuntz is expected to sign the order later Tuesday afternoon. Article content As per the order, Rath has until 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday to provide SLCN with account numbers and locations of its trust fund. The order also prohibits him or his professional corporation from doing anything dissipating the trust assets in any way. content “Right now, we do not know where our client’s trust is held, by which financial institutions in which name, and we don’t know whether Mr. Rath or his professional company have taken any steps to dissipate any of those trust assets in the meantime,” SLCN lawyer Caireen Hanert told the court. Lawyer Scott Chimuk said he was retained by Rath and his professional corporation only on Monday but that Rath was not conceding any wrongdoing. Article content “In no way do the respondents agree to or admit to the merits of any of the allegations in the underlying application,” he told the court, noting future hearings were still to come. Article content “I think we’ve agreed to fight another day.” Rath, who was not in court on Tuesday, has been among the faces of the province’s separatist movement, serving as the lawyer for Stay Free Alberta and its efforts to put its own separation question on the ballot after gathering 223,000 validated signatures. Article content Hanert described the order as being similar to one granted to the Tallcree First Nation of northern Alberta last month, which froze $8.5 million of Rath’s professional corporation’s assets while its finances are under review by a court-appointed receiver. #fyp #foryou

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Wednesday 12 August 2026 20:33:04 GMT