Done deal: $10-billion Robinson Huron Treaty settlement finalized

The $10-billion settlement agreement for Robinson Huron Treaty annuitants has now been signed by all parties — officially making the historic compensation package for 21 First Nations in northeastern Ontario a done deal. 

Chiefs and trustees signed off on the agreement during a Jan. 3 meeting, according to an update from the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund made Tuesday. 

First announced in June 2023, the multi-billion dollar settlement provides past compensation to treaty beneficiaries after not seeing an increase to annuity payments for a period of nearly 150 years, as wealth generated in the territory through resource revenues from the mining, forestry and fishing sectors continued to grow. 

Annual treaty payments to Anishinaabe beneficiaries have remained capped at $4 per person since 1875. 

In 2018, the Superior Court of Justice ruled the Crown had an obligation under the 1850 treaty to increase annuities as wealth generated from the land grew over time, so long as the Crown can do so without incurring a loss.        

Ontario has since taken its appeal of both the Stage 1 and Stage 2 decisions in the annuities claim to the Supreme Court of Canada, after the Ontario Court of Appeal previously upheld the decisions in 2021.

During court hearings for the Supreme Court appeal this past November, Ontario argued that the treaty should be interpreted to mean that the province should determine increases to the annuity, and not the courts. 

The province has also argued that awarding past compensation for historical treaty breaches is inappropriate, and the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund — the legal team representing treaty interests in the annuities claim — should only be entitled to receive declarations from the court at a future hearing for Stage 3 of the annuities claim court case. 

The litigation team for Robinson Huron Treaty interests has countered that Ontario has a legal obligation to increase annuity payments over time. It’s anticipated the Supreme Court will hand down a decision on the province’s appeal sometime this year.    

“We recognize that this is just about the past. But going forward, there’s still a significant amount of negotiations and work that has to go into what the new annuity will be — and it certainly can’t be $4,” Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation Chief Angus Toulouse told SooToday as the appeal was being heard in Supreme Court this past November.  

Funds from the forthcoming settlement — which will see $5 billion from Canada and $5 billion from Ontario paid out to all First Nation signatories to the treaty — are expected to begin to flow into communities as early as the spring of this year. 

A number of First Nations are still in the process of consulting with band members through community engagement sessions in order to determine how the funds will be distributed on a local level. 

In November 2023, the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund warned treaty beneficiaries about the circulation of fraudulent letters, which asked individuals to provide personal and banking information to confirm their eligibility for the distribution of settlement payouts.