NELSON HOUSE, MB: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) has rescinded its five-year banishment of Terry Wayne Francois, an Indigenous father of five who had been exiled from his home and family in Nelson House, Manitoba.
This development follows a motion filed by lawyers seeking a court order permitting Mr. Francois to return home. The NCN was required to file its written response to the injunction motion on October 14, 2025, but instead rescinded the banishment that same day.
Constitutional lawyer Marty Moore, who represents Mr. Francois, said he was encouraged by the decision. “The Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation banished one of its members from his home and family without any notice or hearing. Facing an October 28 court hearing on Mr. Francois’s motion to return to his family, the Nation has now done the right thing by rescinding his banishment.”
“Mr. Francois can finally return home while his legal concerns with the Nation’s banishment and checkstop laws are addressed,” he added.
Mr. Francois, a miner and father of five daughters, has lived in his home in Nelson House on the reserve of the NCN for more than a decade. In December 2024, a routine stop at NCN’s permanent roadside checkstop escalated when officers attempted to search Mr. Francois’s vehicle with a dog and he declined. He drove home but was later arrested and charged. Although those charges were resolved in May 2025 with fines for resisting peace officers, NCN imposed a sweeping banishment order prohibiting him from all NCN lands until at least December 30, 2029—without any notice or hearing.
Mr. Francois was relieved to hear the news, saying, “I am happy that my banishment is rescinded and so are my girls. I look forward to going home, visiting cousins, and seeing my grandbaby.”
Although the banishment has been rescinded, the constitutional challenge to NCN’s Banishment Law and Checkstop Law remains before the Federal Court. The parties are expected to advise the Court on October 28, 2025, of a proposed timetable to address the outstanding issues.
