THE Doer government will do battle in court with the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation over smoking in the reserve's new VLT lounge.

Brokenhead filed suit Monday, alleging the province is overstepping its jurisdiction by refusing to licence new VLT lounges on reserve unless they are smoke-free like the rest of the province.

The province has acknowledged all along that its 2004 smoking ban wouldn't apply on reserves because First Nations fall under federal jurisdiction, not provincial. That view was affirmed in a Manitoba Court of Appeal decision last year that upheld the province's ability to enforce a ban off-reserve but not on it.