We must always remember that it is a fundamental principle of English law (and now Canadian law) that because the Crown owns the property of the First Nations as a trustee for them, the crown has a fiduciary obligation to those nations to act in their best interests. In a word the Crown must act honourably in dealings with Indigenous People. And would all of us not expect exactly that? The Crown must act fairly, justly, with integrity to its beneficiaries.
Sometimes the cost of dishonour is incredibly high. The case of the Robinson Treaties was an astonishing example of this. Because of the delays of the Crown for more than 150 years, the amounts it will now have to pay will be in the billions. Probably, many billions. Who is to blame? The Governments of Canada and Ontario and the people who elected them. As Justice Jamal said for the unanimous Supreme Court, acknowledging it will be substantial,
“The Anishinaabe signatories cannot now be short-changed by the Crown’s sticker shock, which is solely the result of the Crown’s own dishonourable neglect of its sacred treaty promises.”
As Sarah Ritchie reported in the Winnipeg Free Press,
“The Crown must increase the annual payments but the decision does not say by how much. Instead, the ruling sets a path forward for one of the two plaintiff groups that has not already reached a settlement with the governments.”
The beneficiaries of the other Robinson- Huron Treaty settled out of court finalized a deal in February that will see the governments of Canada and Ontario pay $5 billion each to make up for failing to increase the payments since 1875. The two sides are still in negotiations to determine how much the annual payments will be going forward.
The Crown has been ordered to negotiate a settlement with the beneficiaries of the Robinson-Superior Treaty by Jan. 26 next year.
Sometimes the price of disgraceful conduct is high. This time Canada will have to pay. Too bad! We bad!
What does all of this mean for reconciliation? This how Niigaan Sinclair put it:
“In a world where the honour of the Crown is supposed to exist, there are some big questions, decisions and misdeeds that have to be reconciled before reconciliation is possible.”
How can someone be expected to negotiate with someone who has acted dishonourably to them and has not acknowledged it? Maybe its impossible. All 9 judges of the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Canada had acted dishonourably to the 34 Nations who signed the various Robinson Treaties for more than 150 years. Now it is up to Canada to fess up and pay up before it can expect the First Nations to Reconcile.
And the amount will bite.