It took more than a decade of litigation, but 21 Anishinaabe communities along the north shore of Lake Huron in Ontario will finally access a fair share of the wealth generated on their lands over the past 173 years.
The Robinson-Huron Treaty signed in 1850 promised its Indigenous beneficiaries annual payments in exchange for the right to use their lands.
A clause in the treaty explicitly tied the value of the annual payments to resource revenues.
Northeastern Ontario mining, lumber and fishing industries generated billions of dollars in profits over the past two centuries, but annual payments to First Nations were capped at 4 dollars per person in 1874 and haven’t increased since.
In 2018, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that the Crown had a duty to increase annual payments to the beneficiaries of the Robinson-Huron Treaty.
Canada, Ontario and these First Nations communities have been negotiating outside the courts since January.
The announcement of a tentative agreement between Ontario, Canada and the 21 Anishinaabe First Nations living in Robinson-Huron Treaty territory to compensate for unpaid past annuities began in ceremony, much like it did 173 years ago when the Robinson-Huron treaty was first signed.
The three parties announced a proposed $10B settlement to compensate for unpaid past annuities during a press conference in Sudbury on Saturday.
The federal government will pay half of that amount, and the other half will be shouldered by the provincial government.
Renewing the treaty relationship
Batchewana First Nation chief Dean Sayers says that the proposed settlement means the Crown and the Indigenous communities of Robinson-Huron treaty territory are moving together on the path of reconciliation.
“This is only a first step,” he said. “The proposed agreement only deals with past annuities.”
Negotiations to review the terms of annual payments going forward are ongoing, but Sayers says the proposed settlement brings hope for the future of the treaty relationship.
“It’s a symbol of the commitment to respect and uphold treaty rights,” he said.
For Duke Peltier, the Secretary-treasurer of the Robinson-Huron Treaty Litigation Fund, the proposed settlement carries a lot of meaning.
“Our communities have struggled economically, socially and politically because the Crown breached the treaty,” he said.
“The compensation from this settlement will ensure stronger and brighter futures for our nations,” said Peltier.
Communities will be consulted on how to distribute the settlement money
Peltier says Robinson-Huron First Nation community members have “many burning questions” about what this settlement entails.
He asks people to be patient.
“We have to have talks in our communities,” said Peltier.
He adds that there will be consultations in every community in the months to come.
These conversations will guide “the development of policies and procedures so that the compensation fund can be distributed evenly throughout the communities,” said Peltier.
A report with recommendations will be prepared by Anishnaabe judge Harry S. LaForme in the next six to eight months.
Nipissing First Nation chief Scott McLeod says that part of the compensation will be used to fund community development projects.
He adds there is also an “individual component to the annuity.”
“The First Nations will distribute this money to individuals. This amount has not yet been determined,” he said.
As for the federal and provincial governments, they need to go through internal approval processes before the proposed settlement can be finalized.
‘Even a library book would cost a small fortune if it took 173 years to pay the late fees’: minister
Minister of Crown-Indigenous relations Marc Miller says this proposed settlement is not about one specific parcel of land in Canada.
“It’s about the entire relationship upon which this country has been built,” he said.
Miller hopes this compensation will “right a historical wrong.”
He adds the public needs to be educated on this issue. “This is not taught in schools,” he said.
“People are going to have views on this, but people need to understand that this is about Canada and Ontario paying bills that are long overdue.”
“Even a library book would cost a small fortune if it took 173 years to pay the late fees,” said Miller.
He added that “Canada has a lot of unpaid bills”, but that work is underway to speed up compensation claims throughout the country.
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