Current Problems: Treaties and Land Claims

Exploring Theme: "Supreme Court"

Updates on this page: 21
 

July 30, 2024


Judge reserves decision on review of $510M in lawyers’ fees for Robinson Huron treaty litigation settlement

Lawyer on behalf of 2 member First Nations describes fees as ‘grossly inflated’ CBC Indigenous: A judge has reserved decision on a challenge of the fairness of the $510 million being paid to the lawyers who argued the landmark $10-billion Robinson Huron treaty annuities settlement. At the Ontario Superior Court hearing Tuesday in a packed Toronto courtroom,...

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...

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 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 7, 2023


Robinson Huron First Nations disappointed with Ontario’s appeal of Robinson Huron Treaty annuities case

NationTalk: Ottawa, ON— On November 7 and 8, 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear the Government of Ontario’s appeal to the decision made by the Ontario Court of Appeals \ONCA\ on matters related to the Robinson Huron annuities case. In 2021, the Government of Ontario appealed Justice Hennessy’s Stage 1 and 2 decisions....

November 2, 2023


Treaty Rights at the Supreme Court of Canada: Restoule Appeal: First People’s Law Report

In the following post, my colleagues Kate Gunn and Cody O’Neil provide an overview of the upcoming Restoule appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada and its implications for First Nations defending and advancing their Treaty rights across the country. I hope you find it informative and helpful. You can also read it on our website.  Best,  Bruce  Treaty Rights...

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....

July 3, 2023


Ontario is still appealing the Robinson Treaties case to the Supreme Court, despite proposed settlement

The province’s appeal will be heard in the fall CBC News: An out of court settlement agreement has been reached with one group of plaintiffs, but litigation in the Robinson treaties case is far from over.  The Supreme Court of Canada is slated to hear Ontario’s appeal in November.  The case concerns a promise made...

June 12, 2023


Supreme Court refuses to hear Métis harvesting rights case, sets in motion more expansive claim

The lower court will now have to fully consider the evidence that Métis are migratory and, as such, are a community of interconnected settlements spread across a large land mass Windspeaker.com: Canada’s highest court will not hear a case of two Red River Métis men in Saskatchewan who were charged and convicted for unlawfully harvesting,...

January 31, 2023


Dollar value of resources to be debated as final stage of treaty annuities trial begins

One group of plaintiffs in confidential settlement talks while other continues with litigation CBC News: The final stage of a complex trial over the payment of treaty annuities in northern Ontario kicked off Monday with one group of plaintiffs pursuing negotiations and the other in court panning the provincial government. The case concerns a clause...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

July 2, 2020


Trans Mountain Pipeline Appeal

Vancouver (Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Territory- The Squamish Nation, Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Coldwater Indian Band – have been denied leave to appeal by the Supreme Court of Canada. “We are extremely disappointed by today’s decision by the Supreme Court of Canada,” said Chief Leah George-Wilson. It reduces consultation to a purely procedural requirement that will...

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...

April 7, 2020


Trans Mountain Pipeline Appeal

The Squamish Nation, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, the Ts’elxwéyeqw Tribes and Coldwater Indian Band – announce they are seeking leave for appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. These four First Nations have fought and challenged the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) Project through every Federal court. They now intend to seek a challenge at the Supreme Court...

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...