In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Canada found Canada and Ontario made a “mockery” of a treaty promise made in 1850 to the Anishinaabe of the Great Lakes, and must pay significant compensation to the nations.
The Robinson-Huron Treaty and Robinson-Superior Treaty, signed in 1850, spelled out an agreement between the colonial government of the day and Indigenous nations along Lake Huron and Lake Superior. It gave settler governments use of the land in exchange for annual payments in perpetuity — payments that were required to increase as the value of the land increased, representing an agreement to share the wealth.
But the payment was only increased once, in 1874, to $4 per person. It has been frozen ever since, even while billions of dollars of resources have been extracted from the territory as Crown governments granted mining licenses.
The Robinson-Huron and Robinson-Superior treaties are agreements between the First Nations along Lake Huron and Lake Superior, respectively. Lake Huron First Nations reached a historic $10 billion settlement last year, while Lake Superior First Nations have pressed ahead through the Supreme Court of Canada.
“For almost a century and a half, the Anishinaabe have been left with an empty shell of a treaty promise,” the Supreme Court of Canada found in the unanimous ruling released on Friday. While a decision that sets out the rights and obligations of the parties involved is helpful, the court said “given the longstanding and egregious nature of the Crown’s breach,” simply clarifying roles is not enough, and “will not help repair the treaty relationship or restore the Crown’s honour.”
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