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25/04/2002

ICC Issues Report on Chippewas of the Thames Inquiry

Ottawa (April 25, 2002) - The Indian Claims Commission (ICC) today issued its report on a claim by the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation dating back to the mid-19th century. The federal government has accepted the claim - referred to as the Clench Defalcation - for negotiation under the Specific Claims Policy. Chief Commissioner Phil Fontaine announced that the Commission will take no further steps to inquire into the claim, since both Canada and the First Nation have agreed to enter into negotiations.

"In light of Canada's acceptance of the claim, the Commission has suspended further action on it," Mr. Fontaine states in the report which was co-authored by Commissioner Dan Bellegarde. "However, we continue to be involved in this claim by virtue of our role as mediators."

While it expresses pleasure that Canada agreed to negotiate such a longstanding claim, the report underscores the Commission's dismay with the length of time it took to resolve the claim once it had entered ICC processes. "As a result of the many delays, as well as the limited information Canada provided as to why they were occasioned, a process which the claimant had entered in the express hope that it would avoid the need for an inquiry very nearly culminated in one," the report states. "Although the outcome was ultimately satisfactory, we can only emphasize that the effectiveness of the planning conference and mediation process depends on parties keeping their commitments within the agreed timelines."

The claim is based on misappropriation of money owed to the Chippewas of the Thames from the sale of lands the First Nation surrendered to the Crown in 1834. The funds were misappropriated in about 1854 by Joseph Brant Clench, who had been appointed agent for the sale of Indian lands in southern Ontario in 1845.

"We make no findings of fact," Mr. Fontaine pointed out in releasing the Commission's report. "This report, which contains a brief summary of the First Nation's claim and the chronology of events leading up to Canada's decision, is simply meant to advise the public that the claim will be negotiated."

The ICC was established in 1991. Its mandate is: to inquire, at the request of a First Nation, into specific claims that have been rejected by the federal government or where the First Nation disputes the compensation criteria being considered in negotiations; and to provide mediation services on consent of the parties at any stage of the claims process.

To download the report PDF