Current Problems: Treaties and Land Claims
Exploring Stakeholder: "Government of Canada"
Updates on this page: 139
April 17, 2024
Liberal MP, senator call for public investigation into federal officers who stranded Mi’kmaw fishers
A Liberal MP and a Senator are asking for an independent investigation into DFO enforcement activities. Photo: APTN. APTN News: Liberal MP Jaime Battiste says an outside investigation into an incident where federal fisheries officers stranded two Mi’kmaw fishers at a gas station without their phones or shoes needs to be conducted and should be...
April 12, 2024
Cree lawyer says cows and plows settlements don’t reflect spirit of treaty clause
‘It didn’t just mean cows, plows, agriculture. It meant livelihood,’ says Deanne Kasokeo CBC Indigenous: A Saskatchewan-based lawyer says “cows and plows” settlements do not reflect the spirit and intent of treaties from an Indigenous perspective. Under treaties 4,5,6 and 10, the Crown promised agricultural benefits — livestock and farming equipment — to the First Nations that signed. That promise...
April 2, 2024
Mi’kmaw harvesters say DFO officers took their shoes, phones and left them stranded
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there will be ‘full investigation’ into the incident. APTN News: Two Mi’kmaw harvesters say officers with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, commonly called DFO, left them at a gas station in the middle of the night after taking their shoes and cell phones. “We told them that we’re not...
March 29, 2024
A year after declaring state of emergency, 11 Manitoba First Nations start self-governance plans
‘We are being shunned by the government,’ Keewatin Tribal Council grand chief says CBC Indigenous: The Keewatin Tribal Council has begun plans to move toward self-governance — one year after declaring a regional state of emergency over what the tribal council’s grand chief called “system-wide failures” in public safety, health and infrastructure. The council, which...
March 26, 2024
New battery plant will pave over important wetlands says Mohawk council
APTN News: The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake is denouncing Quebec and the federal government over a proposed battery plant outside Montreal. The plant is being built on a wetland that the council, and environmental groups say, is important and that neither government has been transparent about the project. “Right now, what we are deeply concerned...
March 25, 2024
Chief Na’Moks: The RCMP’s specialized C-IRG unit exists to crush Indigenous resistance
One year since a system review was launched, the hostile situation between Indigenous communities and RCMP has only got worse Nation Talk: Ricochet – This month marks one year since the RCMP’s civilian watchdog, the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission, launched an investigation into C-IRG. The RCMP’s Community Industry Response Unit (C-IRG) was created to police Indigenous peoples like...
March 15, 2024
Wolastoqey Nation pushes back against closure of baby eel fishery in New Brunswick
APTN News: The lead fishery negotiator for the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick say the federal government is treating them like “second class citizens” when the minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada or DFO, decided to close the elver fishery for the 2024 fishing season. “They really don’t take into consideration the concerns from our...
February 28, 2024
Court judgment gives Canada, Ontario 60 days to pay out $10B treaty settlement
Partial judgement ordering funds to be transferred to 21 First Nations included in 1850 Robinson Huron Treaty handed down in Ontario Superior Court this week NationTalk: SooToday.com – The $10-billion settlement awarded to Robinson Huron Treaty annuitants for past compensation is slated to be distributed to 21 First Nations included in the treaty in the...
February 22, 2024
New film documents struggle of Wet’suwet’en land defenders
“Canadian police went to great lengths to silence this story. Journalists and filmmakers documenting this history have variously been blocked from accessing newsworthy events…” — filmmaker Michael Toledano Howilhkat Freda Huson is arrested during a ceremony. Photo copyrighted Amber Bracken. Provided courtesy of filmmakers for the documentary Yintah. Canada’s National Observer: Yintah is a new documentary...
February 21, 2024
Wolastoqey fishers say proposed elver fishery shutdown infringes on treaty rights
Neqotkuk chief says more commercial access could keep fishers from turning to the black market CBC Indigenous: Some Wolastoqey fishers say closure of the fishery for baby eels, or elvers, this year will infringe on their treaty rights and impact their right to earn a moderate livelihood from fishing. Last week, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) issued letters...
February 11, 2024
Sask. chief files class-action lawsuit over $5 annuity payments signed 150 years ago
The suit alleges Ottawa has not kept its end of the bargain over annuity payments after signing Treaty 4 CBC Indigenous: The Canadian Press – Chief Lynn Acoose says she’s taking a step elders and past Indigenous leaders in her community have long been reluctant to. The chief of Zagime Anishinabek, home to several First...
February 9, 2024
Algonquin Nation nuclear waste site court challenge a ‘litmus test’ for federal United Nations Declaration Act
By Matteo Cimellaro & Natasha Bulowski | News, Urban Indigenous Communities in Ottawa Lance Haymond, chief of Kebaowek First Nation, at the final licensing hearing for the near-surface disposal facility on Aug. 10, 2023. Photo by Natasha Bulowski / Canada’s National Observer Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: An Algonquin Nation is taking Ottawa to court over the approval of a nuclear...
February 7, 2024
Kebaowek First Nation launches judicial review of Chalk River waste disposal project
APTN News: An Algonquin community in Quebec is launching a judicial review of a decision by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to allow the disposal of limited kinds of nuclear waste at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories campus in Deep River, Ont., located about 180 km west of Ottawa in Quebec. In its application to...
February 7, 2024
Manitoba chief proposes class action against feds over ‘effectively worthless’ $5 treaty payments
Treaty 4 signatories ‘never intended for the annuities to be frozen in time,’ Waywayseecappo chief’s suit says CBC Indigenous: A Manitoba First Nation chief is joining a growing list of Indigenous communities that allege the federal government has violated treaty agreements by not increasing $5 annuity payments to keep up with inflation over the past 150 years. Waywayseecappo First...
January 29, 2024
AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak Urges Consultation with First Nations on Chalk River Radioactive Waste Facility
NationTalk: – Unceded Algonquin Territory, Ottawa, Ontario) – Today, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, is expressing concern following the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) recent approval of a landfill site for nuclear waste at the Chalk River Laboratories (CNL), near the Ottawa River. “The CNSC decision to approve the...
January 17, 2024
Dogs, Snipers and Axes: Inside the RCMP’s Actions in Wet’suwet’en Territory
RCMP officers testify in BC Supreme Court hearing about potential Charter rights violations. The Tyee: RCMP officers considered shooting a security camera and sending a police dog to pull people out of a small structure as they moved to make arrests on Wet’suwet’en territory in November 2021, according to testimony in a B.C. Supreme Court...
January 10, 2024
Yukon judge sends Canada, Yukon and Kaska back to negotiating table over proposed mine
BMC Minerals’ Kudz ze Kayah project, a proposed $381-million dollar mine located 115 km south of the Ross River Dena Council (RRDC) in Ross River, Yukon. Photo: BMC APTN News: A Yukon judge says Canada and Yukon must go back to the negotiating table with the Kaska Nation over a proposed mine in the territory...
December 16, 2023
Manitoba First Nation sues feds, alleges unchanged $5 annuity payments violate treaty
Class-action status sought in suit against Ottawa by 36 First Nations in Treaty 5 CBC Indigenous: Fisher River Cree Nation wants class-action status for its lawsuit against the federal government, which alleges the $5 annuities paid to Treaty 5 First Nations over the last 148 years violate the agreement because they don’t keep up with inflation....
December 15, 2023
Breaking into TMX: Secwépemc allies, wrapped in chains, drop tobacco into borehole
While some of the last of the pipeline expansion tears through Pípsell in Secwepemcúl’ecw, a last-ditch effort is made to defend the sacred site First Peoples Law Report: IndigiNews.com – Over the course of two trips in the past month, a team of journalists on joint assignment for Ricochet, IndigiNews and The Real News Network...
December 12, 2023
Amnesty International Says CGL and the RCMP Violated Indigenous Rights
The human rights group is calling for the company to cease operations in Wet’suwet’en territory. The Tyee: An investigation by human rights organization Amnesty International has found that Coastal GasLink, its private security firm, the RCMP and Canadian and B.C. governments all violated the Indigenous rights of Wet’suwet’en who oppose the pipeline project. “What emerges...
December 1, 2023
100 years of the Williams Treaties in Ontario: Anishinaabeg perspectives
Agreements between First Nations and Canada in southeastern Ontario are considered ‘among the worst’ treaties in Canada by some. Their legacy cannot be forgotten Anglers from Curve Lake First Nation on Pigeon Lake, in the vast southeastern Ontario region that falls under the Williams Treaties of 1923. Photo: Fred Thornhill / The Canadian Press The Narwhal:...
November 30, 2023
Indigenous Rights and Marine Spaces: Case Comment on Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation; First Peoples Law Report
In the following case comment, my colleague Kate Gunn weighs in on the Ontario Court of Appeal’s Saugeen decision and its implications for Indigenous rights in relation to marine spaces.I hope you find it informative and helpful.You can also read it on our website.Best, Bruce Indigenous Rights and Marine Spaces: Case Comment on Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation By...
November 29, 2023
SON asking Supreme Court to weigh in on Bruce Peninsula claim
First Peoples Law Report: The Owen Sound Sun Times – Saugeen Ojibway Nation wants the Supreme Court to consider whether the Crown owed a fiduciary duty to them and whether it was breached when the Crown didn’t stop settlers from moving into the Bruce Peninsula, which was promised to SON. It’s asking the Supreme Court...
November 24, 2023
Mi’kmaq fishers say feds aren’t listening to their concerns about safety
APTN News: In the early morning hours of April 3, 2021, the fishing vessel Tyhawk launched into the icy waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence from Chéticamp, Nova Scotia. The weather was bad. Ice was accumulating on the boat because of freezing rain. Despite this, the captain and his crew of four kept going...
November 22, 2023
Indigenous rights collide with $35B Western Canada pipeline expansion
NationTalk: Global News – Trans Mountain, the company that’s building the federal government-owned pipeline expansion from Alberta through B.C., says its project, which is billions of dollars over budget, is now 95 per cent complete. The company hopes oil will start flowing within weeks. Except there’s a problem. Some residents of an Indigenous community are...
November 16, 2023
Métis in N.W.T. still waiting for apology, compensation for loss of hunting rights
Canada signed a deal with First Nations in Wood Buffalo National Park but not Métis. Ken Hudson carries a moose shank from the bed of his pickup truck to a meat hook in his workshop. APTN News: However, putting country food on the table has been challenging at times. For decades, he has been tirelessly...
November 9, 2023
Supreme Court of Canada hears case on broken treaty promises with up to $126-billion award on the line
The case involving First Nations in northern Ontario could redefine what Canada and Ontario owe to Anishinaabe treaty beneficiaries. Toronto Star: OTTAWA—A landmark case heard by the Supreme Court of Canada this week could leave the federal and provincial governments on the hook for a $126-billion award to First Nations in northern Ontario for failing...
November 8, 2023
Dakota Tipi First Nation sues federal government for $475M, alleges Manitoba air base built on unceded land
Loss of land caused economic, cultural, mental and physical suffering, Dakota Tipi lawsuit says CBC Indigenous: Dakota Tipi First Nation has launched a $475-million lawsuit against the federal government, alleging a former military base turned aerospace centre in south-central Manitoba exists on part of the First Nation’s ancestral land that was never surrendered to the Crown....
November 7, 2023
Supreme Court of Canada hears Ontario’s appeal of landmark Robinson Huron treaty annuities case
The province is appealing an Ontario Court of Appeal decision in 2021 CBC Indigenous: More than six years since its first day in court, the Robinson-Huron treaty annuities case is being heard in the Supreme Court of Canada today and Wednesday. At the centre of the landmark case is a promise that annuities to Indigenous communities would increase...
November 1, 2023
Saugeen Ojibway Nation raises concerns about Metis rights in territory
First Nations Law Report: Owen Sound The Sun Times – The Saugeen Ojibway Nation is raising concerns about what it says are Metis groups asserting rights in their traditional territory and the willingness of organizations, proponents and governments to engage with those communities. On Oct. 25, SON – made up of the Saugeen First Nation...
October 30, 2023
Despite opposition and environmental violations, major B.C. pipeline project nearly complete
TC Energy says the 670-km Coastal GasLink pipeline has been fully installed from Dawson Creek to Kitimat CBC News: A controversial pipeline meant to transport natural gas across northern British Columbia has passed a major milestone. On Monday, TC Energy announced it has finished installing pipe on its Coastal GasLink pipeline project. “That means that all...
October 27, 2023
Why Are Indigenous Fisheries Still Drawing Anger and Violence?
Canada has spent nearly 25 years ignoring its own Supreme Court. First Nations fishers are suffering the consequences. The Tyee: Hakai Magazine – In the summer of 2000, Mi’kmaw fishers from Esgenoôpetitj, also known as Burnt Church First Nation, took to the waters of Miramichi Bay, in New Brunswick, each small boat carrying a cache...
October 20, 2023
Community copy of Treaty 3 believed to be last in existence on display at human rights museum
Copy shows treaty ‘was about allowing access to the land, not selling the land’: elder CBC News: What is thought to be the final remaining community copy of a 150-year-old treaty that opened a gateway to what is now Western Canada is on temporary display at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. The...
October 15, 2023
More than 50 Indigenous fish harvesters in the Maritimes face charges or on trial
Several of the accused plan to argue treaty rights have been violated CBC Indigenous: The Canadian Press – Three years after a First Nation started a self-regulated lobster fishery that sparked protests and violence in Nova Scotia, federal prosecutors are pressing ahead with charges against dozens of Indigenous fishers, some of whom are planning constitutional...
October 13, 2023
Bloc Quebécois stands with Algonquin Nation against proposed nuclear waste site
From left: Lance Haymond, chief of Kebaowek First Nation; Dylan Whiteduck, chief of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg; and Savanna McGregor, grand chief of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation Tribal Council at a press conference in June. Photo by Matteo Cimellaro Listen to article NationTalk: Canada’s National Observer: The Bloc Québécois has thrown its support behind Algonquin First Nations...
October 12, 2023
Supreme Court hears arguments on time limitations to bring claims of treaty obligation breaches
“The Treaty 8 First Nations submit that the Crown’s treaty promises must always be fulfilled. And that limitations legislation should not ever be used as basis to prevent the fulfillment of those obligations.” — Kate Gunn, legal counsel for Treaty 8 First Nations in Alberta Supreme Court of Canada Justices (from left to right): Hon....
September 30, 2023
How Wilfrid Laurier’s Liberals grabbed reserve lands in the Prairie west
Bill Waiser and Jennie Hansen are historians based in Saskatchewan and co-authors of Cheated: The Laurier Liberals and the Theft of First Nations Reserve Land. The Globe and Mail: Contributed by BILL WAISER AND JENNIE HANSEN In June of last year, at Alberta’s Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood next to Chief Ouray Crowfoot and...
September 25, 2023
Regulator rules in favour of Trans Mountain route change
Workers place pipe during construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on farmland in Abbotsford, B.C., on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck Canada’s National Observer: CALGARY — The Canada Energy Regulator has approved Trans Mountain Corp.’s application to modify the pipeline’s route, a decision that could spare the government-owned pipeline project from...
September 22, 2023
First Nations in northern Ontario seek over $100B to honour treaty promise
APTN News: The Canadian Press -A legal battle playing out in a northern Ontario courtroom this month has seen an alliance of First Nations argue they are owed upwards of $100 billion for the Crown’s failure to honour a 173-year-old treaty promise, while the federal and provincial governments claim they are either owed far less,...
September 12, 2023
Final arguments begin in a lawsuit that could award Ontario Indigenous groups billions
The Globe and Mail: First published September 11 – It has the potential to be the biggest litigation award in Canadian history and it all hinges on a clause scrawled 173 years ago. First Nations located around the resource-rich northern shore of Lake Superior are asking for $126-billion in compensation for the Crown’s failure to pay...
September 1, 2023
Federal Court rules 2022 elver quota transfer to First Nations fair and reasonable
HALIFAX — The Federal Court has affirmed Ottawa’s move in 2022 to transfer part of the lucrative elver fishery quota in the Maritimes to First Nations fishers. In a written decision dated Aug. NationTalk: Alaska Highway News: HALIFAX — The Federal Court has affirmed Ottawa’s move in 2022 to transfer part of the lucrative elver...
August 25, 2023
Ottawa confirms it changed land claim process, mulls Indian Act changes
The Globe and Mail: The Canadian Press – Canada changed the way it settles First Nation land claims, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada confirmed Friday. The department is also mulling over possible amendments to the Indian Act and the Specific Claims Tribunal Act, though it didn’t say what those changes would be. The response...
August 22, 2023
Marten Falls chief wants housing and water issues fixed ahead of Ring of Fire mining
Bruce Achneepineskum and community won’t be satisfied with the ‘bare minimum’ in consenting to James Bay development NationTalk: Northern Ontario Business – The chief of Marten Falls First Nation isn’t opposed to mine development, he’s just cautious about what should be included in any future agreement connected to the Ring of Fire. Bruce Achneepineskum wants...
August 4, 2023
Mi’kmaw nation, lobster harvesters suing feds for treaty violations
Theft of Mi’kmaw harvester’s lobster caught on video. APTN News: Sheyanne Francis is used to being hassled by enforcement officers with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, also known as DFO. But a theft of her catch left her speechless. “Gut wrenching, sick to my stomach, disgusted, wow,” she said. After Francis and her crew...
August 2, 2023
Sipekne’katik First Nation sues federal government for seizing lobster traps
Lawsuit says fisheries officials, coast guard violated right to moderate livelihood fishery CBC News: Sipekne’katik First Nation is suing the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard for seizing some of its members’ lobster traps earlier this month in southwest Nova Scotia. The statement of claim, filed in the Supreme Court of...
July 19, 2023
Chiefs continue to press feds on its land back and NRTA shortcomings
“It is a broken system and it’s something that needs to be fixed. It is probably the poorest form of getting land back to your communities and control over those.” Marc Miller, minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Black River First Nation Chief Sheldon Kent speaks about the 1930 Natural Resources Transfer Act and how jurisdiction over...
July 11, 2023
DFO says it has enough resources to monitor Indigenous lobster fishing in Nova Scotia
Pledge comes in wake of illegal catches of baby eels by Indigenous and non-Indigenous harvesters CBC News: Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) says its enforcement branch will be on the water and adequately equipped to monitor compliance of First Nations lobster fisheries this summer. The pledge follows the chaotic fishery for baby eels this spring...
May 19, 2023
‘It needs to be a day of reckoning:’ Parliamentary committee studying land back
‘I think this study will really explore the connection of Indigenous people to land in a way that people don’t naturally equate to property.’ A school bus rests on the road at 1492 Land Back Lane Blockade in Caledonia, Ont. Photo: APTN file APTN News: The standing committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs is undertaking...
May 18, 2023
Garden River First Nation launches new lawsuit against Ontario and Canada
Chief Andy Rickard says “it’s time to right the wrongs of the past” CBC News: Members of the Garden River First Nation traveled hundreds of kilometers to go to Queen’s Park on Thursday and announce a lawsuit against Ontario and Canada for breaching the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850. The community, which is home to...
May 17, 2023
Trial Begins for a Hereditary Chief Charged in the CGL Pipeline Conflict
Chief Dsta’hyl says he was acting as an enforcement officer for the Likhts’amisyu Clan when he seized construction equipment. The Tyee: Security was unusually tight at the courthouse in Smithers on Monday, with sheriffs using metal detectors and searching the bags of those who attended the first day of the trial of a Wet’suwet’en Hereditary...
April 28, 2023
Lennox Island, DFO agree on 2023 moderate livelihood lobster fishery off P.E.I.
PEIFA critical, says DFO tried to buy back licences but was unwilling to pay the price CBC News: The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says it has reached an “understanding” with Lennox Island First Nation for a treaty-protected lobster fishery off P.E.I.’s North Shore for the 2023 spring season. In a statement to CBC News, DFO says...
April 26, 2023
First Nations leaders in Treaty 9 say their message is clear — no development without us as partners
Chiefs from 10 communities in the region launch lawsuit, arguing Crown can’t make unilateral land decisions Treaty 9 First Nations leaders say their message is clear, no development without us as partners To view the above video click on the following link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/first-nations-lawsuit-ring-of-fire-development-1.6822920 CBC News: First Nations leaders in northern Ontario are ramping up political...
April 26, 2023
10 First Nations sue Ontario and Canada over resource extraction and broken Treaty 9 promises
Arguing that resource extraction has violated Indigenous jurisdiction for over a century, the case could stall the Ontario government’s plans to mine the Ring of Fire The Narwhal: Ten northern First Nations launched a lawsuit against the Ontario and federal governments Wednesday, arguing that resource extraction on their territories has infringed upon their jurisdiction for...
April 26, 2023
Can the Crown make land decisions without First Nations consent? Treaty 9 lawsuit argues no
Lawyer calls lawsuit ‘frontal attack’ on colonial idea governments have ‘supreme right to rule’ CBC News: Several First Nations have announced their intention to take the Ontario and Canadian governments to court, in a lawsuit their lead lawyer says could fundamentally change the way resource and land management decisions are made in the Treaty 9 area. Leaders...
April 25, 2023
Lennox Island to fish 1,000 lobster traps off P.E.I.’s North Shore, with or without DFO signoff
‘If you want to protect rights, you have to practise them. You can’t shelve them.’ CBC News: The chief of Lennox Island First Nation says it will fish 1,000 traps in the spring lobster fishery off P.E.I.’s North Shore this year as part of its treaty-protected fishery — whether or not the Department of Fisheries...
April 21, 2023
Coastal GasLink faces new fines for filing ‘false and misleading’ information
When B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office reviewed reports filed by the pipeline it found discrepancies; now it says the company should pay up for misleading the government The Narwhal: Coastal GasLink is facing a new fine for allegedly misleading enforcement officers and sending them false information about the company’s efforts to protect an area around the...
April 16, 2023
Lucrative baby eel fishery shut down
Federal agency shelves elver production for 45 days amid poaching and safety concerns Toronto Star: Federal fisheries officials shut down the lucrative baby eel fishery in the Maritimes on Saturday amid growing concerns of illegal poaching and violence. Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the elver fishery in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick would be closed...
April 12, 2023
Trudeau says premiers’ claims about natural resources power grab have ‘no grounding in truth’
Premiers criticized justice minister for saying Ottawa will look at resource agreement CBC News: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing the premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba of misinterpreting remarks by a federal minister on whether Ottawa might review agreements that give those provinces control of natural resources. “Let me be very clear. The minister of...
April 11, 2023
Western premiers blast Lametti for suggesting Ottawa might ‘look at’ provinces’ power over natural resources
Lametti told an AFN meeting he would examine calls to rescind Natural Resources Transfer Act CBC News: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and three western premiers are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to disassociate his government from comments made by his justice minister — who promised last week to “look at” a decades-old law that...
April 8, 2023
Canada is sitting on a critical minerals motherlode. But is it ready for the new gold rush?
Proponents say Canada must do more to turn aspiration into action CBC News: Drive two hours north of Ottawa, put on a hard hat and bright orange vest, descend into a pit — and you find yourself on the frontline in the fight to be part of the new, green economy. A mining project might not...
March 14, 2023
Haldimand Tract Litigation New Website and Update
NationTalk: Six Nations of the Grand River Band, under the direction of Elected Council, is suing the governments of Canada and Ontario in a court case that started in 1995. The Band says that under the 1784 Haldimand Proclamation, which it considers a treaty, the British Crown set aside about 950,000 acres of lands along...
March 14, 2023
Billions have been made on Robinson Huron Treaty lands. First Nations could finally get a fair share
For 173 years, Canada has failed to truly share profits from nickel, copper, uranium, lumber and fish. Now, courts will weigh in on fair payback for First Nations in northeastern Ontario The Narwhal: In northeastern Ontario, a treaty dispute over 170 years in the making might finally be coming to a close. A legal trust...
March 9, 2023
Chiefs ban RCMP’s ‘militarized’ squadron from Gitxsan lands in northern B.C.
Community-Industry Response Group not welcome on Gitxsan lands, say chiefs First Peoples Law Report: Clearwater Times – Gitxsan hereditary chiefs issued a notice this week prohibiting the RCMP’s ‘militarized squadron’ called the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) from Gitxsan lands centred in the Hazelton area, effective immediately. “While we embrace safety measures for our community, the...
March 7, 2023
Neskantaga First Nation says it wasn’t adequately consulted in key Ring of Fire environmental study
First Peoples Law Report: The Globe and Mail: Neskantaga First Nation says it wasn’t adequately consulted in a key Ring of Fire environmental study, and is warning Ring of Fire Metals, the Australian mining company bent on developing the region, that it will have to use force against members of the First Nation before they...
February 15, 2023
Mi’kmaw First Nations expand Aboriginal title claim to include almost all of N.B.
Claim expands on 2016 Elsipogtog claim that covered a third of province CBC News: Mi’kmaw communities in New Brunswick are once again asserting Aboriginal title to land in the province — and it’s a lot more land than in the previous claim. In fact, according to a map released on Wednesday, the most recent claim covers nearly...
February 8, 2023
Manitoba First Nations man sues federal government for $11B over ‘unfulfilled’ treaty annuity payments
Zongidaya Nelson argues Crown failed to meet treaty obligations with 7 Treaty 1 nations dating back to 1871 CBC News: A First Nations man is seeking $11 billion from the Canadian government on behalf of Treaty 1 status members he argues are owed “full and fair” annual payments promised by the Crown as part of...
February 7, 2023
First Nations owed over $100B under 1850 Ontario treaty: Nobel-winning economist – National Post
Joseph Stiglitz is testifying in a Sudbury, Ont., courtroom why First Nations may have been short-changed under a revenue-sharing treaty signed in 1850 NationTalk: National Post – He is a Nobel prize winner, former vice president of the World Bank and one of the globe’s most famous economists. And this week Joseph Stiglitz is testifying...
February 2, 2023
Ontario says it doesn’t owe First Nations seeking compensation for broken treaty
The Globe and Mail: Indigenous communities are in court seeking billions of dollars in compensation after almost 150 years of receiving small annual payments in return for ceding an area the size of France. But the Ontario government is arguing they are owed nothing, or at most $34-million. The wide divergence in claims was on...
January 26, 2023
Indigenous identity at core of Qalipu membership challenge trial in St. John’s
Final arguments are to be heard next week NationTalk: SaltWire – ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Testimony has wrapped up, but observers across the country are interested to see what comes of a court case in St. John’s involving a group of Mi’kmaw residents whose memberships in the Qalipu First Nation were revoked when a new point system was brought...
January 18, 2023
Canada, Ontario, and Robinson Huron Treaty Leadership Announce two-week mediation
Robinson Huron leadership assembled at a closed-door Special Chiefs Meeting in Sudbury, Ont., on Jan. 16 to confer with their legal team from Nahwegahbow Corbiere Genoodmagejig Barristers & Solicitors in preparation for the historic mediation NationTalk: ANISHINANBEKNEWS.ca: SUDBURY — Canada and Ontario were in a tight corner: staring down a dispassionate, nonpartisan court set to...
January 16, 2023
Qalipu First Nation enrolment controversy reaches ‘pivotal point’ as court challenge begins
Group wants 2013 supplemental agreement abolished CBC News: The long-simmering fight over membership in Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation is entering a new chapter Monday, as a group of people rejected in a controversial enrolment process head to court. The Friends of Qalipu Advocacy Association is challenging a 2013 supplemental agreement between the federal government and...
January 11, 2023
RCMP, Coastal GasLink deny conspiring to intimidate, harass Wet’suwet’en members
Mounties acted ‘reasonably’ while enforcing injunction, B.C. legal defence says CBC News: The RCMP denies it conspired with a natural gas pipeline builder and a private security firm in a campaign designed to harass Wet’suwet’en people off their unceded territory in northern British Columbia, court filings say. The RCMP, Coastal GasLink and Forsythe Security, named...
January 9, 2023
Indigenous land defenders criminalized, surveilled and harassed as pipeline construction continues on Wet’suwet’en territory: Amnesty International
NationTalk: Four years on from the first large-scale police raid on Wet’suwet’en territory, Indigenous land defenders in Canada are still experiencing serious human rights violations as the construction of the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline continues on their unceded, ancestral and traditional territories, said Amnesty International today. The Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs – the authorities of the...
January 7, 2023
Here are 3 places to watch the Land Back movement unfold in 2023
Calls for a return of Indigenous sovereignty over traditional territories have gained momentum in recent years CBC News: It was a hot, muggy July day when Nick Tilsen and about 200 other Lakotas blocked the way to a sacred mountain. The mountain is part of the He Sapa and is the centre of the Land...
December 19, 2022
Conflict over new Indigenous lobster fishery continues to smoulder amid some progress
Toronto Star: HALIFAX – Federal conservation officers have seized more than 7,000 lobster traps in the two years since violence flared in Nova Scotia when a First Nation tried to assert a treaty right by fishing out of season. Earlier this month, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans confirmed it had confiscated almost 2,000 traps...
December 15, 2022
Matawa Chiefs’ Council Call on the Government of Canada to Stop the Colonial Backroom Deals and Establish a Dedicated Federal Crown Table to Prepare for the Development of the Ring of Fire Region and Critical Minerals
NationTalk: THUNDER BAY, ON: At their meeting today, the Matawa Chiefs Council issue the following statement related to the activities of the Governments of Canada, Ontario, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the Chiefs of Ontario (COO) and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) who are compromising the positions of Indigenous rights holders: “We have watched...
December 11, 2022
Delgamuukw 25 years on: How Canada has undermined the landmark decision on Indigenous land rights
The Conversation: Shiri Pasternak, Assistant Professor of Criminology, Toronto Metropolitan University This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada’s Delgamuukw case on Aboriginal title. In 1997, the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan Nations brought the watershed case before the Supreme Court, yet a countrywide battle remains over implementation of the Delgamuukw decision involving all First nations. The...
December 9, 2022
Coastal GasLink protesters sentenced after pleading guilty to criminal contempt
3 protesters receive $500 fines; 25 hours of community service for 2 others CBC News: A B.C. Supreme Court judge sentenced five protesters Monday who pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of court for ignoring a court order forbidding them from blocking access to a controversial northern B.C. pipeline. Justice Michael Tammen accepted a joint submission...
December 8, 2022
First Nations leaders reject Trudeau’s proposed gun law, citing risk to treaty rights
AFN chiefs reject Liberal gun-control bill The Canadian Press: OTTAWA – Chiefs at the Assembly of First Nationsvoted Thursdayto publicly oppose the Liberal government’s proposed gun-control legislationand stand against sovereignty bills in Alberta and Saskatchewan’s legislatures. All three bills would infringe on treaty rights, the First Nations leaders said. An amendment to Bill C-21, which...
December 8, 2022
First Nations demand withdrawal of proposed Alberta Sovereignty, Saskatchewan First acts
CBC News: Standing at a podium in Ottawa with several treaty chiefs behind her, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations called for the proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act and the Saskatchewan First Act to be withdrawn. Chiefs connected with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, Treaty 6 and Treaty 7 say the acts infringe...
November 17, 2022
Matawa chiefs push back against U.S. military agenda in the Ring of Fire
First Nation leaders demand a big say over any industrial development on their James Bay homelands First Peoples Law Report: Northern Ontario Business Staff Nov 17, 2022 1:00 PM Toronto media reports about talks between the U.S. military, mining interests and government about funding development in the Ring of Fire has angered Indigenous communities in Ontario’s...
November 15, 2022
25 years after the Delgamuukw case, the fight for land is more contentious than ever
Judges ruled that Indigenous people had ancestral land rights but stopped short of declaring Aboriginal title Angela Sterritt · CBC News · Posted: Nov 15, 2022 4:00 AM PT | Last Updated: November 15 Twenty-five years after the Delgamuukw verdict was handed down, First Nations’ leaders behind the historic case are still ruminating about how the land they fought for is still largely...
November 8, 2022
Robinson-Huron Treaty annuities case: Ontario seeks stay – lawyer
Robinson-Huron Treaty Litigation Fund says Ontario has asked for a stay in final stage of court case while it appeals previous court decision on treaty annuity payments Sootoday.com: The third and final stage of an ongoing court case over treaty annuity payments launched by signatories to the Robinson-Huron Treaty is slated to begin early in...
November 8, 2022
Canada and Fox Lake Cree Nation mark key step toward reconciliation and renewed nation-to-nation relationship
Crown – Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: Today, Chief Morris Beardy of Fox Lake Cree Nation and the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, announced that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance shared work at a Recognition of Indigenous Rights and Self-Determination table. This co-developed Memorandum of Understanding will help guide...
October 6, 2022
The complicated truth about pipelines crossing Wet’suwet’en territory
Alberta-based energy giant TC Energy frequently points to its agreements with 20 First Nations along the route of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. This is true, but look a little deeper and it’s a lot more complex The Narwhal: Three years after starting construction on a gas pipeline in northern B.C., Calgary-based energy giant TC Energy...
September 12, 2022
1492 Land Back Lane dispute over proposed development near Caledonia and Six Nations returns to court
NationTalk: Newmarket Today – The legal saga around a two-year occupation of a proposed development site by a group of Indigenous people returned to an Ontario court on Monday with another attempt to remove the protesters. The company behind the planned housing development near Caledonia, Ont., and Six Nations of the Grand River is again...
August 30, 2022
Federal and Ontario governments settle decades-long flooding claim with First Nation
Globe And Mail: More than a century after a small First Nation in Northwestern Ontario was flooded by a dam on the Rainy River, the community has reached an $84-million land claim settlement with the federal and provincial governments. Chief Janice Henderson of Mitaanjigamiing First Nation said the recent settlement is life-changing for her community,...
August 3, 2022
The Government of Canada Formally Apologizes to Peepeekisis Cree Nation for File Hills Colony Scheme
Crown – Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada – The File Hills Colony Scheme, which was in place from 1898 to 1954, involved the involuntary relocation of graduates from residential schools and industrial schools in Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the Peepeekisis Cree Nation’s reserve. The federal Agent arbitrarily allocated agricultural land on reserve without the...
June 23, 2022
Robinson-Huron Superior treaty annuity payments appeal heading to Supreme Court
Supreme Court to hear Ontario case on treaty payments to Anishinaabe APTN: The Supreme Court of Canada says it will hear a legal battle over Crown payments to beneficiaries of two Robinson treaties which cover the upper Great Lakes in Ontario and 21 Anishinaabe bands. The Ontario government sought to challenge a ruling by the...
June 13, 2022
Matawa Chiefs’ Council work towards solidifying approach to Ring Of Fire Regional Environment Assessment
NationTalk: TORONTO, ON: Chiefs of the Matawa First Nations of Northern Ontario announced today they are working towards solidifying a regional approach to the federal Impact Assessment (IA) in the Ring of Fire. This announcement was made during the Matawa Chiefs Council’s participation in the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s 2022 convention which was...
May 8, 2022
Legacy of 1907 illegal land transfer leaves Peguis First Nation struggling with recurring flooding
Peguis FN was moved off of their original territory through an illegal land transfer in 1907 to their current location on Fisher River where they have been subject to continuous flooding. Toronto Star: The marshy delta of Manitoba’s Fisher River was not the original home of Peguis First Nation. But having been relocated there more...
March 16, 2022
Opposition to Ottawa’s Ring of Fire Environmental Assessment
Mar. 16, 2022: Timmins Today – A coalition of conservationists, environmentalists and lawyers want Ottawa’s Ring of Fire environmental assessment process to be broadened in size and scope to include industrial centres like Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury. In a March 15 letter sent to three federal cabinet ministers, the group is calling for a...
March 8, 2022
Nuchatlaht Nation Aboriginal Title case with BC Supreme Court
Windspeaker.com – The Nuchatlaht Nation began its legal battle in 2017 fighting BC and the federal government to get their land back. Their territory includes a large part of Nootka Island off the west coast of Vancouver Island. It has been impacted by industrial logging and fishing for almost a century since Nuchatlaht was displaced...
February 23, 2022
Matawa Chiefs Council Opposition to the Regional Assessment for the Ring of Fire
Feb. 23, 2022: The Matawa Chiefs Council and Matawa First Nations Management (MFNM) – representing (9) member First Nations call on Canada to begin the collaboration, negotiations and investment process – in partnership with Matawa member First Nations – to maximize the benefits of the development of the north. The land Ontario refers to as the Far...
January 7, 2022
Robinson-Huron and Superior Treaties, 1850
CBC – Ontario will appeal the Robinson Huron Treaty Annuity Case to the Supreme Court. The case was upheld by both the Ontario Superior Court and then the Ontario Court of Appeal. The 21 First Nations involved said that amount needs to be re-negotiated, and the courts have agreed....
December 11, 2021
Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa decision,
Union of BC Indian Chiefs – UBCIC marks the 24th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada’s ground-breaking Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa decision, which confirmed the continuing existence of the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan Title and Rights, contrary to provincial claims that their Title, if it had existed, had been extinguished. On December 11, 1997 the six members of...
November 24, 2021
Coastal First Nations vs Government of Alberta and 2 Métis organizations
Coastal First Nations – In the wake of the news that two Métis groups received funding from the Alberta Government to legally challenge the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, Coastal First Nations (CFN) will continue to fight to protect our waters, lands and resources from potential oil spills. “We will do whatever it takes to protect...
November 24, 2021
Coastal First Nations vs Government of Alberta and 2 Métis organizations
Coastal First Nations – In the wake of the news that two Métis groups received funding from the Alberta Government to legally challenge the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, Coastal First Nations (CFN) will continue to fight to protect our waters, lands and resources from potential oil spills. “We will do whatever it takes to protect...
November 5, 2021
Robinson-Huron and Superior Treaties, 1850
The Manitoulin Expositor – The Ontario Court of Appeal releases judgment on Ontario’s Stage 1 and 2 in Robinson–Huron Treaty Annuities Case that affirms much of the trial decision and only disagrees with the trial judgment on a limited number of issues. As we explain, we unanimously reject the majority of the arguments raised on...
October 20, 2021
Mi’kmaw Netukulimk Moderate Living Fishery
Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office – Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs (Assembly) met with Minister Bernadette Jordan, Department of Fisheries and Oceans; Minister Carolyn Bennett, CIR and Minister Marc Miller, ISC to further discuss how the Mi’kmaq will be exercising their right to fish for a moderate livelihood. The Assembly pushed for Canada to accept...
October 1, 2021
Supreme Court validates Honour of the Crown
Métis Nation of Ontario, Métis Nation of Alberta – The Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in City of Toronto v Ontario (Attorney General). This case was about the fairness of a municipal election in one city, but the decision also raised the issue of how Canada’s Constitution is to be interpreted and the...
September 21, 2021
Mi’kmaw Netukulimk Moderate Living Fishery
Global News – …a flotilla of non-Indigenous fishermen removed about 350 lobster traps off the coast of southwestern Nova Scotia…under the watch of RCMP, coast guard boats and police helicopters. “The gear that we were collecting was what was in violation of the law,” Colin Sproul, President of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association...
August 16, 2021
Robinson-Huron and Superior Treaties, 1850
Wawa News – The Government of Canada has completed their mandating process and are prepared to negotiate and settle the ongoing annuities case. Canada has stated that the negotiation and settlement process requires participation from the Government of Ontario. “Now, we need the province to come to the table to make this settlement happen,” said...
August 10, 2021
Peepeekisis Cree Nation
Government of Canada – The Peepeekisis Cree Nation and the Government of Canada have concluded their negotiated settlement to resolve the File Hills Colony Specific Claim. The century-old claim concerned Canada’s breach of fiduciary obligations when it implemented the File Hills Farm Colony Scheme with its first transfer and settlement of industrial school graduates onto...
July 29, 2021
Saugeen First Nation Treaty 72 signed 1854
Saugeen Ojibwat Nation – Ontario Superior Court ruled on SON’s claims: an Aboriginal title claim to parts of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay and a claim that the Crown breached its promise to protect forever parts of the Saugeen (Bruce) Peninsula for SON. The claim to “waters” was denied based on a lack of evidence...
July 16, 2021
Lac Seul First Nation
iPolitics –The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled 8-1 that a $30-million award to the Lac Seul First Nation, located in northwestern Ontario, to cover the federal government’s intentional flooding of its reserve land in 1929 was insufficient, and has sent the case back to trial to be re-evaluated. In doing so, the top court...
May 12, 2021
Mi’kmaw Netukulimk Moderate Living Fishery
Ku’ku’kwes News: In a letter dated April 30, the chair for the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) asked Leslie Norton, Canada’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland to explain what Canada has done to: Investigate alleged acts of racism, violence and vandalism against Mi’kmaw fishers and supporters Investigate...
May 11, 2021
Mi’kmaw Netukulimk Moderate Living Fishery
Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office – The community of Potlotek First Nation has now filed a legal proceeding against DFO challenging the validity of the DFO regime in its limitations of Mi’kmaw livelihood harvesting activities. “We are filing for a declaration that the Fisheries Act and Regulations are invalid as against authorized Mi’kmaw harvesters who are...
May 11, 2021
Giant Mine Remediation
CBC – The Yellowknives Dene First Nation says the federal government’s response to the Giant Mine petition “reflects some progress,” but when it comes to remediation contracts, the response “falls short.” They say the response fails to reflect over three months of discussions between the Yellowknives Dene and government representatives. It also points out that...
April 28, 2021
Robinson-Huron and Superior Treaties, 1850
Wawa News – the Ontario Court of Appeal concluded its hearing of the Government of Ontario’s appeal of the Stage 1 decision in the Robinson Treaties annuities case. The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision on the Stage 1 appeal, which it will likely release in the months following its hearing of the Stage...
March 30, 2021
Mi’kmaw Netukulimk Moderate Living Fishery
APTN – Mi’kmaw lobster harvesters in Nova Scotia have launched legal action against Canada’s attorney general, RCMP, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), and 29 non-Indigenous fishers including the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association (BFIFA) for the events around the launch of the Moderate Living Fishery in September 2020...
March 3, 2021
Mi’kmaw Netukulimk Moderate Living Fishery
Department of Fisheries – Introduced a path forward for Moderate Livelihood Fishing Plans based on three key principles: implementation of First Nations Treaty rights conservation and sustainability of fish stocks, and transparent and stable management of the fishery. The Sipekne’katik First Nation and the The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs reject the plan The...
February 3, 2021
Mi’kmaw Netukulimk Moderate Living Fishery
Global News – The Sipekne’katik First Nation has filed a court action against the Attorney General of Nova Scotia to challenge a provincial regulation on purchasing fish products, saying it’s unconstitutional. This regulation orders that any fish products sold in Nova Scotia must be caught and registered under a commercial licence with the Department of...
February 3, 2021
Giant Mine Remediation
CBC – The Giant Mine operated from 1948 to 2006, displacing the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YNDFN) from the western part of Yellowknife Bay, affecting their harvesting rights. The mine contaminated the water and led to long-term negative social impacts among the YKDFN. The YKDFN and the federal government agreed to set up a formal...
January 22, 2021
Beaver Lake Partial Advance Cost Award
LAC-LA BICHE, AB: Beaver Lake First Nations – The Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal the decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal overturning Beaver Lake Cree Nations’ partial advanced cost award. After ten years of litigation, including 5 years where Alberta and Canada unsuccessfully tried to strike its claim, the Beaver Lake...
January 22, 2021
Partial Advanced Cost Award
CISION – LAC-LA BICHE, AB – The Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal the decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal overturning Beaver Lake Cree Nations’ partial advanced cost award. After ten years of litigation, including 5 years where Alberta and Canada unsuccessfully tried to strike its claim, the Beaver Lake Cree could...
December 21, 2020
Mi’kmaw Netukulimk Moderate Living Fishery
The Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFCA) – a newly formed alliance of commercial fishery stakeholders, is calling on the Government of Canada to establish clear, lasting, responsible, regulatory oversight for all fisheries – commercial, food, social, and ceremonial. Established in Nov. 2020, the UFCA represents thousands of multi-species commercial fishermen, fishery associations, and associated businesses from...
December 17, 2020
Failure to extend consulting period
CBC – Five First Nations in Northern Ontario – Neskantaga, Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, Kashechewan and Weenusk First Nations – sent a letter on Dec. 10, 2020 to the federal Impact Assessment Agency demanding more time for the consultation process announced on Nov. 12, 2020 with a deadline of Jan. 21, 2020. They wanted the date...
October 28, 2020
Lac Seul First Nation
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) – Supreme Court of Canada grants intervener status to AMC, along with many others, in the Southwind case. Lac Seul Band launched the suit against the Federal Government for breaching their fiduciary duty when they flooded reserve land to advance a hydro-electric project. This project would see massive profits for...
October 23, 2020
Mi’kmaw Netukulimk Moderate Living Fishery
Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office – Representatives of the DFO Conservation and Protection (C&P) officers, who seized traps from Potlotek and Eskasoni authorized harvesters, refused to attend the consultation discussions (between DFO and Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs) to explain their actions and DFO representatives in attendance said they would not exercise authority over C&P...
October 21, 2020
Mi’kmaw Netukulimk Moderate Living Fishery
Sipekne’katik First Nation awarded an interim injunction “authorizing police to arrest anyone whose interference, blockades or threats keep the community from carrying out its fishery… Chief Michael Sack has indicated that “The plan…includes conservation measures, regulations for the boats and their safety and compliance officers”. The main concern for the non-Indigenous fisherman is the sale...
October 15, 2020
Saugeen First Nation Treaty 72 signed 1854
NationTalk – SON’s claim is that the Crown could have protected the Peninsula and misled SON in the negotiations of a surrender of the Saugeen (Bruce) Peninsula. SON’s claim is that this was a breach of the Crown’s fiduciary duty. What SON is seeking is a declaration the Crown breached this duty. If successful, in...
October 1, 2020
Mi’kmaw Netukulimk Moderate Living Fishery
Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office – Mi’kmaw harvesters from the Potlotek Mi’kmaw community will exercise their inherent right to fish for a moderate livelihood under their communities own self-governed fisheries plan. The harvesters will take to the waters of St. Peter’s Bay on the annual celebration of Treaty Day, a date to recognize and honor the...
September 25, 2020
Saugeen First Nation Treaty 72 signed 1854
Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) and Grey County – The Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation and the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation reached an agreement settling Grey County’s involvement in SON’s long-standing legal action in relation to parts of the Saugeen (Bruce) Peninsula. The agreement settles a claim launched by SON approximately 25 years ago...
September 25, 2020
Lac Seul First Nation
Dryden Now – In 1929, the Ear Falls Dam was built to supply hydroelectric power to Ontario and Manitoba, but flooded over 11,000 acres of Lac Seul First Nation’s reserve lands and burial sites that same year. Chief Derek Maud says it’s disappointing and unacceptable that Canada has not addressed the outstanding issue, and he...
September 21, 2020
First Nation constitutional orders are distinct but equal to Euro-Canadian laws
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) – will be intervening at the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in a significant and potentially transformational hearing to argue that First Nation constitutional orders are distinct but equal to Euro-Canadian laws. On the surface, the case is about the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, the federal government’s carbon tax,...
September 20, 2020
Alberta’s 150th anniversary on entering Confederation
NationTalk – On the day celebrating Alberta’s entry into Confederation 115 years ago, Premier Jason Kenny acknowledged that “Alberta’s history of human habitation dates back more than 10,000 years when the first Indigenous people migrated to Alberta to find a land rich in bounty. Albertans have celebrated years of growth and economic prosperity despite the...
September 18, 2020
Mi’kmaw Netukulimk Moderate Living Fishery
Toronto Star – “In its 1999 Marshall decision – borne of a court case against Mi’kmaw fisherman and icon Donald Marshall – the Supreme Court affirmed the right of First Nations to hunt, fish and gather in pursuit of a “moderate livelihood.”” 21 years later, the federal government has failed to define “moderate livelihood. The...
July 8, 2020
Robinson-Huron and Superior Treaties, 1850
Manitoulin Expositor – Since the Ontario Government launched their appeal of the Dec. 24, 2018 decision, the Superior Court has sided with the Anishinabek Nation in two of three challenges: Phase 1: Established that the original treaty created a ‘sui generis fiduciary relationship’ (meaning the colonial government was required to manage the lands and act...
April 23, 2020
Lac Seul First Nation
First Peoples Law -The Supreme Court of Canada granted Lac Seul First Nation’s application for leave to appeal the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision in Southwind v. Canada. The Supreme Court is expected to clarify how equitable compensation is calculated where a First Nation’s reserve lands have been taken or damaged by the Crown in...
August 14, 2019
People of the Longhouse
CBC – The Federal Government continuing to rely on a Specific Claims process that according to Peter Di Gangi, a board member at the First Nations-led research centre Yellowhead Institute, is the federal government’s conflict of interest. “The claims are against the federal government. At the same time, it controls the negotiation process, controls the...
August 7, 2019
Saugeen First Nation Treaty 72 signed 1854
CBC – In 2014, a tentative agreement between the First Nation and the Town of South Bruce Peninsula was proposed that would have recognized Saugeen’s ownership of the strip of beach. During the municipal election that fall, former councillor Janice Jackson unseated the previous mayor, running on a platform that the town would not settle...
July 16, 2019
Budget Cuts Claims Research Units
Letter to Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada: The National Claims Research Directors – NCRD is a national body of specialized technicians who manage thirty-five Claims Research Units (CRUs) mandated to research and develop specific claims against the federal government. Collectively we have developed and advanced over 1500 claims. We repeat...
July 11, 2019
Abandoning Denesuline First Nation and Sayisi Dene First Nation Land Claim negotiation
The Denesuline First Nation and Sayisi Dene First Nation Canada were on the verge of initialing a land claim agreement. Then on June 12, 2019, without warning, the Minister put off signing and claimed more consultation was required with Indigenous peoples in NWT. At the negotiating table, Canada had previously agreed to initial the agreement...
May 6, 2019
Treaty 6, 7, and 8 insist on FPIC
The Chiefs of Sovereign and Treaty Nations from Treaty 6, 7 and 8 have consistently told Canada, “Nations don’t make laws for other Nations”. Despite numerous attempts to work with the Federal Government, Canada continues to unilaterally develop laws and policies without our right to free, prior and informed consent. Alexander First Nation, Chief Kurt...
February 2, 2019
Delgamuukw decision and the Tsilhqot’in decision
Policy Options – Continued refusal to accept Aboriginal title as defined by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Delgamuukw decision and the Tsilhqot’in decision. The Supreme Court of Canada similarly recognizes in Delgamuukw that constitutionally protected Aboriginal title is not created by Canadian law; rather, Aboriginal title “arises from the prior occupation of Canada...
January 22, 2019
Robinson-Huron and Superior Treaties, 1850
The Government of Ontario appealed the Robinson-Huron and Robinson Superior Treaties Superior Court decision around Annuities claims while at the same time negotiating with the 21 First Nations making up the Anishinabek people in northern Ontario. In her December ruling, Justice Patricia Hennessy wrote the annuities described in the treaties — which hadn’t been raised...
November 20, 2018
Muskotew Sakahikan Enowuk, the traditional Government of the Lubicon Lake Nation
Muskotew Sakahikan Enowuk, the traditional Government of the Lubicon Lake Nation, outlined a number of remaining concerns faced by the First Nation, despite a recently announced Treaty Land Entitlement Settlement between Lubicon Lake Band #453 (the “Band”), Alberta and Canada. The Nation is the traditional governance structure of the Lubicon Cree people which has functioned...
June 5, 2017
Saugeen First Nation Treaty 72 signed 1854
Globe and Mail, Aug. 30, 2015, Updated June 5, 2017 – Resorting to the courts to resolve a long-standing land claim issue. The federal government supports the Saugeen First Nation claim which dates back to Treaty No. 72, signed in October, 1854. Surveying documents made at the time validate that the eastern boundary should have...
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