The Innu Nation and provincial and federal governments have asked the Court to defer the release of a decision on an injunction application made by the Innu Nation that would delay the signing of a Muskrat Falls rate mitigation deal.

A court decision was expected this week.

The federal government announced a rate mitigation deal earlier this year. The formal signing was set for September 30th, but the Innu Nation filed a court application to have that process delayed.

At issue is whether the federal and provincial governments had a duty to consult with the Innu Nation on the agreement, since Muskrat Falls was built on their land.

The Innu were promised benefits in exchange for that, but say those will be reduced in the new deal so they should have been consulted.

A joint statement was issued mid-afternoon indicating that all three parties – the Innu Nation, and the federal and provincial governments had requested the Court to delay to allow for further discussion.

The three parties say there will be no further comment at this time.