Canoe Lake Cree Nation [Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range]
August 1993 The overall issue facing the Indian Claims Commission was: Did the Government of Canada properly reject the land claims of the Cold Lake and Canoe Lake First Nations in 1975 and 1986? This issue broke down into two questions: 1) Did the Government of Canada breach its treaties with the peoples of Cold Lake First Nations (Treaty 6, 1876) and Canoe Lake Cree Nation (Treaty 10, 1906) by excluding them from their traditional hunting, trapping and fishing territories in 1954 so that those lands could be converted for use as the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range? and 2) Did the Government of Canada breach any fiduciary obligation owed to the First Nations, following the exclusion of their people from their traditional territories? The Commission traveled to the communities, pursuing its mandate to listen to historical evidence, including that which might not be admissible in a court of law. The evidence was sincere, compelling and uncontradicted. The Commission was struck by the totality of the destruction of these communities. A centuries-old traditional lifestyle characterized by communal self-sufficiency was abruptly terminated "for the good of Canada." For 30 years, claims for fair compensation and reasonable rehabilitation were repeatedly advanced by the First Nations, and repeatedly rejected by successive governments. The Commission's conclusions after the hearings and intensive archival research were: 1) That as a consequence of the abrupt exclusion of the peoples of the Cold Lake and Canoe Lake First Nations from virtually all of their traditional territories and the consequent destruction of their independent lifestyle despite all assurances and guarantees to the contrary, the Government of Canada is in breach of Treaties 6 and 10. 2) That the Government of Canada was a fiduciary on behalf of those First Nations and breached its fiduciary duty in consciously failing to provide adequate compensation or any means of rehabilitation for the claimant First Nations. The Commission's determination (in part) was: In our view, no reasonable interpretation of these treaties would allow government to destroy the Indian economies upon which the treaties were premised. That, however, is precisely what was done here through the expulsion of claimant First Nations from their traditional lands....In our view, the language of the treaties alone is sufficient to reach this conclusion....The full historical background serves to confirm the significance of the undertakings given to the Treaty Indians and the extent of the breach....Not every taking up of treaty land for settlement or other purposes would constitute a breach of treaty. That, however, does not persuade us that compensation and other remedies are not available when a breach on the scale that we have found here occurs. The Commission recommended: That the Primrose Lake Air Weapons claims of the Cold Lake First Nations and the Canoe Lake Cree Nation be accepted for negotiation pursuant to the 1982 specific claims policy of Canada. Government's Response to Canoe Lake: In March 1995, the government accepted the claim on a qualified basis stating it had no legal obligation (no breach of treaty or fiduciary obligation) but acknowledged that there was a need to improve economic and social circumstances in the community. The claim was settled in June 1997 for $13,412,333 in federal compensation and a requirement that the First Nation purchase between 2,786 hectares and 20,224 hectares of land. Government's Response to Cold Lake: In March 1995, the government accepted the claim on a qualified basis stating it had no legal obligation (no breach of treaty or fiduciary obligation) but acknowledged that there was a need to improve economic and social circumstances in the community. The claim was settled in March 2002, for $25,500,000 in federal compensation and the creation of an additional reserve of 5000 acres. Formal Conclusion of Cold Lake Canada Agreement Download Government Response Click Here for the Report |
