Hmmm, somehow, I get the feeling that the ruling will not be what First Nations expect.
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Ontario First Nations seek to raise Canada’s rent from current $4 per year
A total of 21 First Nations in northern Ontario are taking the Ontario and federal governments to court, accusing them of failing to uphold a key clause of a treaty their ancestors signed almost 150 years ago.
The Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850 states that First Nations people on the land, which spans an area from Sault Ste. Marie to North Bay and north to Kirkland Lake, would receive payments for any revenue generated from their territory. The treaty also stipulated that those payments would increase as revenues increased.
The payments were raised in 1874 to $4 per person, but haven’t budged since. Now, First Nations leaders are finally suing the Ontario and federal governments.
Chief Duke Peltier of Manitoulin Island’s Wikwemikong First Nation, says the territory covered by the treaty has generated plenty of revenue in the last 150 years.
“Hundreds of millions are generated in royalties alone and in revenues in permitting systems,” he told CTV’s Your Morning Friday. “And that doesn’t include the profits generated by the mines and other companies operating on the territory.”
Peltier says indigenous leaders began asking questions about raises to the annuity almost as soon as the treaty was signed.
The Assembly of First Nations has said that even while provincial and the national governments have profited from the land, Indigenous communities have been left out and faced chronic poverty. They say that is not only unfair but inconsistent with the treaties that were signed in good faith.
The rest here.
Ontario First Nations seek to raise Canada’s rent from current $4 per year | CTV News
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Ontario First Nations seek to raise Canada’s rent from current $4 per year
A total of 21 First Nations in northern Ontario are taking the Ontario and federal governments to court, accusing them of failing to uphold a key clause of a treaty their ancestors signed almost 150 years ago.
The Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850 states that First Nations people on the land, which spans an area from Sault Ste. Marie to North Bay and north to Kirkland Lake, would receive payments for any revenue generated from their territory. The treaty also stipulated that those payments would increase as revenues increased.
The payments were raised in 1874 to $4 per person, but haven’t budged since. Now, First Nations leaders are finally suing the Ontario and federal governments.
Chief Duke Peltier of Manitoulin Island’s Wikwemikong First Nation, says the territory covered by the treaty has generated plenty of revenue in the last 150 years.
“Hundreds of millions are generated in royalties alone and in revenues in permitting systems,” he told CTV’s Your Morning Friday. “And that doesn’t include the profits generated by the mines and other companies operating on the territory.”
Peltier says indigenous leaders began asking questions about raises to the annuity almost as soon as the treaty was signed.
The Assembly of First Nations has said that even while provincial and the national governments have profited from the land, Indigenous communities have been left out and faced chronic poverty. They say that is not only unfair but inconsistent with the treaties that were signed in good faith.
The rest here.
Ontario First Nations seek to raise Canada’s rent from current $4 per year | CTV News
