Last Friday, Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Marion issued the freezing order, known as a Mareva injunction, on $8.5-million of assets belonging to Jeffrey Rath and his law firm.AHMED ZAKOT/The Globe and Mail
An Alberta judge has extended an order temporarily freezing assets belonging to Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer and prominent voice in Alberta’s separatist movement, and his legal firm, in response to allegations that he had misappropriated money he was overseeing as a northern First Nation’s trustee.
Court of King’s Bench Justice John Gill on Wednesday said the order will continue until there is a final judgment on the matter or if Mr. Rath meets certain conditions – one of which would require him to provide a security of $15-million to an investigative receiver.
The new order says Mr. Rath and his firm are required to disclose by early August the location of his assets and a complete accounting of fees, charges and amounts paid to him and his firm.
He is also expected to face examination under oath by Aug. 11. His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment, though Mr. Rath has previously said in court filings that he acted properly.
Edward Holt, counsel for Mr. Rath, did not present evidence at Wednesday’s virtual hearing and agreed to extend the freezing order.
Lawyers for Tallcree First Nation and Mr. Rath spent much of the morning privately deliberating over conditions surrounding the new order.
Wednesday’s hearing continued a rapid succession of court activity over allegations levelled by Tallcree First Nation that Mr. Rath and his law firm moved $8.5-million in November, 2025, to his private corporation from the band’s trust – the same amount a Court of King’s Bench judge has ordered him to repay the First Nation over a fee dispute.
Last Friday, Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Marion issued the freezing order, known as a Mareva injunction, on $8.5-million of assets belonging to Mr. Rath and his law firm. In late June, a judge temporarily removed him as the band’s trustee after Tallcree discovered Mr. Rath had charged the First Nation more than $6-million between 2024 and 2025.
He has maintained that the fees he charged Tallcree followed the conditions of the trust.
Mr. Rath, a long-time lawyer who has specialized in aboriginal law, has been a vocal booster of Alberta separatism for several years and captured significant public attention for his numerous meetings with U.S. State Department officials.
Justice Gill on Wednesday agreed to extend the Mareva injunction, saying there “is a real risk that the respondents have been actively taking steps and will continue to take steps to frustrate the process of locating the missing money.”
The judge also raised “concern about a pattern of behaviour” by Mr. Rath after Chief Sheldon Sunshine of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation filed an affidavit on Tuesday with evidence pointing to roughly $12-million in withdrawals paid from its trust to Mr. Rath’s private company between May, 2023, and January, 2024 – payments that Mr. Sunshine said the First Nation had no knowledge of.
Mr. Rath’s history with Tallcree largely mirrors his involvement with Sturgeon Lake, a Northern Alberta Nation whose minors’ trust he also oversees.
In 2017, Mr. Rath helped Sturgeon Lake reach a $142-million settlement with Ottawa over long-standing broken agricultural promises. He and his firm were paid $28.5-million under the fee agreement, equivalent to 20 per cent of the settlement.
Sturgeon Lake challenged that fee, which a Court of King’s Bench judge in 2024 found to be unenforceable. A review officer is now deciding how much Mr. Rath’s firm is entitled to.
In 2022, the band filed an application to remove Mr. Rath as trustee, citing underpayments to beneficiaries, failing to pay interest on trust distributions, failing to provide financial statements and rude treatment by staff at Mr. Rath’s firm.
Mr. Rath is continuing to oversee the band’s minors’ trust.
“We are worried many children will never see that money from the settlement,” Mr. Sunshine said in his affidavit.
Justice Gill said the affidavit provided “compelling evidence” that Mr. Rath and his firm have been involved in removing substantial amounts of money from Sturgeon Lake’s trust.
The new order allows Mr. Rath to spend $25,000 in living expenses.
