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National Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) said he is pleased that the Robinson-Huron Treaty annuities case was successful in its second phase of legal challenges and will now move on to determining proper compensation for Canada’s use of the traditional lands First Nations agreed to share.
“The First Nations leaders who entered into Treaty with the Crown wanted to make better lives for their people, and believed they were agreeing to a partnership that would see them share in the bounty of their lands. Unfortunately, this has not happened,” said the National Chief. “Any new funds from this court case will go to improving the socio-economic well-being of our people.”
“First Nations believed they would share in Canada’s future prosperity when they entered into Treaty with the Crown. The findings of the court should flow through all Treaties and be applied to annuities that have not kept up with the rising cost of living.”
Made between local First Nations and the Crown in September 1850, the Robinson-Huron Treaty allowed for the sharing of over 37,000 square miles of land with Canada. In September 2014, twenty-one First Nations filed the annuities case. In December 2018, the court ruled, during phase one of the court challenges, that both Canada and Ontario had failed to live up to the Crown’s obligations to increase annuity payments over time as the lands were being developed and resources were extracted.
The AFN is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada. Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Updates.
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