This past July, an important Supreme Court of Canada decision was made on behalf of Indigenous communities. It unanimously rejected the Ontario government’s recent claim that it is not liable to remedy past underpayments to the Robinson Superior communities under an augmentation clause of the Robinson Huron and Superior Treaties. Through the Robinson-Huron Treaty terms, Indigenous communities encompassing present day Thunder Bay, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and environs, agreed to cede more than 100,000 square kilometeres of their territory in exchange for an annual share in resource extraction revenue profits. The terms of the treaty required the Crown to increase annuity payments “from time to time” as its resource revenues increased. The Crown has not offered any increase under the treaty terms… since 1875.
In the continued spirit of the treaties, the court requested that the Crown negotiate with the Robinson Superior communities to determine an annuity amount within 6 months (as of the July 26th finding), rather than the court itself imposing that amount. In the words of the court: negotiation is “in and of itself important to effectively repairing the treaty relationship damaged by the Crown’s failure to review and increase the annuity”.
Anishinabeke News added, “Respectful negotiation better represents the nation-to-nation relationship and can further reconciliation.”
"It is time for the parties to return to the council fire and rekindle the perpetual relationship that the Robinson treaties envision. Nothing less will demonstrate the Crown's commitment to reconciliation.”
~ Supreme Court, July 2024
The Supreme Court judgment, written by Justice Mahmud Jamal, condemned the failure of the Crown to honour the Robinson Huron and Superior Treaties noting “for almost 150 years, the annuities have been frozen at a shocking $4 per person, after the first and only increase was made in 1875.”
Anishinabeke News also noted that this judgment set new precedents for Canadian Treaty interpretation and the valued role of the Canadian court system. Before this case was brought to the Supreme Court, the Ontario courts heard from First Nation Elders and citizens sharing their knowledge and wisdom. This history is invaluable towards the process of truth and reconciliation. “The Robinson Huron and Superior litigation featured months of testimony from Elders, community knowledge holders, and historians, all working to give the court an understanding of the common intention that the Anishinabek and British came to that was then expressed in the Treaty.”
The more complete story of this court decision can be read on the Anishinabeke News site: https://anishinabeknews.ca/2024/07/29/supreme-court-of-canada-declares-canada-a-historically-dishonourable-treaty-partner/, as well as on the CBC News site: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ontario-canada-crown-treaty-anishinaabe-mockery-1.7276290
For Reflection:
- What is your overall reaction upon reading this news of the Supreme Court of Canada’s July 2024 decision related to the Robinson Huron and Superior Treaties? Are you surprised?
- How familiar are you with the Robinson Huron and Superior Treaties? How familiar are you with other Treaties between governments and Indigenous communities?
- Does this court decision and what it reveals about treaty faithfulness encourage you to learn more about our treaties with Indigenous communities? Do you have a general sense how these treaties have either been honoured and dishonoured by succeeding generations, including our own?
- How could you, or communities or organizations you belong to, contribute towards the Crown’s - our - commitment to reconciliation in light of treaty terms and agreements?