Treaty Land Entitlement
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Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation Status on Specific Claims and T.L.E. Newsletter This newsletter provides an update to Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation membership regarding the First Nation’s claims under Canada’s Specific NOVEMBER 2018 Claims Policy. We have retained Maurice Law Barristers & Solicitors as Table of Contents our legal counsel to assist us in pursuing our Specific Claims. What is a Specific Claim….p.1 Cows and Ploughs…………..p.2 What is a Specific Claim? Potential Claims……………..p.3 “Specific Claims” arises from the failure of the Her Majesty the Treaty Land Entitlement…p.4 Queen in Right of Canada to fulfil its legal obligations to First Nations arising from historical Indian treaties, the Indian Act or other agreements between First Nations and the Crown. Under the Specific Claims Policy, a First Nation submits its claim to the Crown by way of a “claim submission” detailing the factual basis of the claim and the specific legal allegations against the Crown. List items here. Canada then has three and a half years to assess the Claim List items here. Submission to determine whether, in Canada’s opinion, the claim dis- List items here. closes an outstanding “lawful obligation” owed by the federal govern- List items here. ment to the First Nation. If Canada’s assessment concludes that the claim discloses an “outstanding lawful obligation,” the First Nation and the Crown enter into settlement negotiations to determine the compen- sation owed to the First Nation. If a claim is rejected for negotiation, the First Nation can proceed by way of litigation through the Specific Claims Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) and introduces timelines for the assessment and negotiation of specific claims. The Tribunal is an independent adjudicative body that has the power to issue monetary settlements and issue binding decisions. It is Describe your location presided over by Federal Court judges with specialized experience in by landmark or area of Aboriginal law claims. Limitation defenses cannot be relied upon by Can- town. ada to defend a claim. 1 Claim Status Treaty Benefits or “Cows & Ploughs ” Legal counsel has re- tained a historian to undertake What is the Treaty Benefits Claim? the necessary historical re- The Treaty Benefits Claim relates to the Crown’s failure to fulfill search to prepare an expert the benefits owed to Ahtahkakoop under the terms of Treaty 6. report. The 1876 Treaty Benefits included: The report will examine the making of Treaty 6 and the • Payment for twine and nets; Crown’s promises to provide • Articles, such as tools, seed and livestock, to be supplied agricultural assistance. It will to each band for the encouragement of the practice of also assess the relationship agriculture; between Ahtahkakoop and • Items to be provided to the Chief, for the benefit of the Canada and will analyze the band, including a horse, harness, and a wagon or cart; government’s records con- cerning its commitment to • Assistance in the case of famine or pestilence; and fulfilling agricultural benefits • Annual payments for three years for the purchase of pro under Treaty 6. visions to assist in cultivation. The Claim will assert that the intent of providing the promise of The historian will determine: these benefits under Treaty 6 was to promote economic development and self-sufficiency for Ahtahkakoop. The agricultural provisions 1) what benefits, if any, the promised in Treaty 6 were intended to assist us with transitioning into an Crown provided to agricultural way of life, due to the disappearance of the buffalo, but Ahtahkakoop during the tran- Canada didn’t live up to its promises. sitional period after we ad- hered to Treaty 6; 2) when the benefits were pro- Cows & Ploughs - Next Steps vided; and Legal counsel will draft a Specific Claim submission for filing with 3) an examination of the quali- the Specific Claims Branch. There are three parts to the submission: ty of the benefits provided to 1. The historical report completed by the historian; Ahtahkakoop. The expert 2. The legal submission completed by legal counsel; report will be finalized on November 20, 2018. 3. The document collection completed by the research depart- ment at Maurice Law. DescribeLegal your location bycounsel landmark or area ofhas town. com- pleted the legal research to Maurice Law is currently working on completing the claim form the legal basis of the submission. From the time of filing, in the spring of 2019, Canada will claim and anticipates that they have three and a half years to accept or reject the claim for negotiation. will have the claim submission If rejected, legal counsel will file a Declaration of Claim with the Specific filed by November 30, 2018. Claims Tribunal. 2 Who is Maurice Law? It is important to note that, to date, no Treaty 6 First Nation has settled a Maurice Law Barristers & So- Cows & Ploughs claim. We will be sure to keep membership apprised of licitors is Canada’s first – and material developments in relation to the matter. only- Indigenous-owned national law firm. Established If Ahtahkakoop receives compensation in relation to the Treaty in 2002, they serve their pre- Benefits Claim we, as a community, will determine how this will benefit dominantly Indigenous Ahtahkakoop, for both present and future membership. clientele on a variety of We note that legal counsel cannot guarantee an amount of matters. compensation or success in relation to the claim as each claim is as- The most substantial aspect of sessed on its own merit. In addition, with a possible change in govern- their practice is advising and ment in the fall of 2019, it is uncertain if the claim will be accepted for advocating for First Nations in negotiation. If we must litigate, there is a risk that compensation will be relation to Canada’s Specific $0. Legal counsel will take all necessary steps to move aggressively and Claim process. Their team of in Ahtahkakoop’s best interests. lawyers have extensive experi- ence acting for clients across Other Potential Specific Claims Canada in pursuing claims under Canada’s Specific Claims Aboriginal Veterans Policy and for advocating on Maurice Law is currently in the process of conducting preliminary behalf of their clients at the research in relation to a potential claim against Her Majesty the Queen in Specific Claims Tribunal. Right of Canada, relating to loss of reserve lands owing to the Veterans’ Maurice Law, through their Land schemes (ca. 1917 to 1960). These schemes may have impacted extensive experience in the reserve lands of Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation. negotiation and litigation of During the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War, Specific Claims and has an ex- Canada passed legislation designed to give veterans with farming skills cellent track record in access to good-quality, well-located agricultural lands for purchase, along achieving beneficial results for with loans to get their farms started. Indigenous veterans’ inclusion in their clients. these schemes was complicated by a number of legal issues, which the In addition to Specific Claims Crown partly resolved in a way that caused the Bands to suffer a loss in they also provide legal some of their communal lands. Legal counsel believes that an actionable services in relation to govern- claim is the result. ance matters, trusts, employ- This is a collective claim that will be brought on the Bands’ behalf, ment, administrative law, to seek compensation for that loss without affecting the rights or constitutional litigation, tax, entitlements of individual Indigenous veterans or their descendants. and secured lending. They have offices in Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Vancouver. 3 The claim is in the preliminary research stage. Maurice Law has retained a historical expert to provide a survey of the scope of the legislations’ effects on Western Canadian reserve lands, and to identify as much as possible which Bands, including Ahtahkakoop, have been affected by this scheme. At this point, we do not know if there is a viable claim. We will keep membership apprised of any material developments in relation to this matter. Wrongful Expenditures Regarding Medical Expenses Maurice Law is currently in the process of conducting preliminary research in relation to a po- tential claim against Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, relating to the wrongful expenditures of medical services for the First Nation. Under the terms of Treaty 6, the Crown promised “that a medi- cine chest shall be kept at the house of each Indian agent for the use and benefit of the Indians at the direction of such agent…” Caselaw has interpreted the medicine chest clause in Treaty 6 in a contem- porary and inclusive manner, meaning full benefits of medicare. Legal counsel is currently conducting preliminary research to determine if the Crown utilized monies belonging to Ahtahkakoop in the Capital or Revenue Accounts administered by the Crown to provide medical services to our members. In other words, research is being conducted to determine if our own money was being used by Canada to fulfill a treaty promise that they were supposed to pro- vide. When the relevant documents are disclosed legal counsel will assess whether or not there is a basis for a claim. They will then undertake the necessary legal research to complete a claim submission for filing with the Specific Claims Branch. At this point, we do not know if there is a viable claim. We will keep the membership updated on any material developments in this matter. Research was conducted into how much land the First Nation received versus how much land we should have received. This research indicated that we were provided with 67.17 square miles or 42,988.8 acres. Based on the Treaty 6 formula this would be enough land for about 335.85 individuals.