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Completed Inquiries – Reports Released

01/03/2000

Bigstone Cree Nation [Treaty Land Entitlement] – March 2000

On October 13, 1998, the Government of Canada agreed that the Bigstone Cree Nation had a valid claim to more land under Treaty 8. The acceptance came mid-inquiry as a result of the Commission’s work on TLE and resulting changes in federal policy in April 1998. The First Nation claims that federal representatives, in their surveys, did not include the total population of all Bigstone Cree settlements as required by Treaty 8. Many settlements were isolated, some adhered to Treaty 8 at later dates, and many community members were still leading a semi-nomadic life at that time. The TLE claim was rejected by DIAND in 1989 and again in 1996, after which the First Nation brought it to the Commission. At issue are the appropriate date for TLE calculation, who is to be counted, as well as Canada’s fiduciary, legal, equitable, or other treaty obligations. The Commission held three community sessions and two pre-hearing conferences between October 1996 and December 1997 before the First Nation requested its claim be put in abeyance while Canada reviewed the claim in light of the 1998 TLE policy change. The parties are now negotiating a settlement.

Response: In October 1998, government accepted claim for negotiation.

To download the government's response - PDF

To download the report - PDF