The highest court in the country agrees to look into the dispute between the First Nations signatories of the Robinson-Huron and Robinson-Superior treaties and Ontario over the amount of the annual royalties paid, which has not been adjusted for nearly 10 years. a century and a half.
These two treaties, signed in 1850, were intended as an agreement for the exploitation of the lands occupied by the Anishinabe by the Crown in exchange for an annual royalty paid to each member of the signatory Aboriginal peoples.
The Ontario government is challenging a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal, which ruled in November 2021 in favor of First Nations.
The Court of Appeal, in its judgment, indicated that the Crown violated the terms of the treaties signed with the Anishinabés settled on the north shore of Lakes Huron and Superior, by limiting annual royalties to $4 per person for nearly 150 years .
According to documents presented to the court, the royalty was increased to $4 in 1874, and has not been adjusted since.
The province filed its appeal to the Supreme Court in early January 2022, questioning its liability in the case.
The Ontario Court of Appeal also noted in the fall decision that although both the federal government and the province have recognized that the royalties should be increased, no steps have been taken in this direction..
The case was then sent back to the trial judge to determine the amount due to the First Nations involved and the government — provincial, federal or both — responsible for this compensation.
The federal government, unlike the Ontario government, decided not to challenge the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
Negotiations between Aboriginal representatives and governments resumed in April, even though the case is still before the courts.
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
