Ontario appealing Robinson Huron decision 'befuddling' to Batchewana Chief

The Ontario government has given notice that it’s appealing a Superior Court decision that would see $4 annuity payments increased for beneficiaries of the Robinson-Huron Treaty.

The federal government has already decided that it’s not going to appeal that decision, which was handed down by Justice Patricia Hennessy Dec. 21.

“It befuddled me, and I’m really, really stretching to think how they could justify that,” Batchewana First Nation Chief Dean Sayers told SooToday.

The annuities claim - filed on behalf of 21 First Nations under the Robinson-Huron Treaty in September 2014 - successfully argued that an ‘escalator clause’ in the treaty allowed for increases in annuity payments.

Sayers feels that Canada and Ontario should have been paying their bills all along, instead of allowing the issue to fester since 1874 - the last time Anishinabek within Robinson-Huron Treaty territory saw an increase in annuity payments.

“It should have went up incrementally based on the amount of revenue that was generated from off of our resources,” said Sayers. “That wasn’t the case though.”

The Robinson-Huron Treaty - originally signed Sept. 9, 1850 at Whitefish Island in Baawating - saw 37,500 square miles of land transferred to the Crown.

When the Superior Court judgement was handed down last month, Justice Hennessy wrote that it’s the Crown’s duty to fulfil the treaty’s promise to increase the payments over time.

“The treaties were not meant to be the last word on the relationship,” she wrote. “Renewal of the relationship was necessary to ensure that both parties could continue to thrive in changing environments.”

Sayers tells SooToday that he would personally like to see a plan for a final resolution within a year.

“We have to make it work, we all deserve reconciliation,” he said. “We all deserve closure.”

“The parties will be meeting soon to discuss the way forward on negotiations,” read a Jan. 22 press release from the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Committee. “This will provide an opportunity to determine if Ontario prefers litigation to negotiations as the preferred method for achieving lasting reconciliation and, if Canada can advance rights recognition, respect and partnership with the Robinson-Huron First Nations in the existing treaty relationship.”

“We look forward to a just resolution of this historic case.”

There are approximately 30,000 beneficiaries of the Robinson-Huron Treaty, which encompasses 92,500 square kilometres along the north shore of Lake Huron, extending from Batchawana Bay on Lake Superior to Kirkland Lake, North Bay and Mattawa, as far south as Penetanguishene.

- with files from The Canadian Press