$5 annuities paid to Treaty 1 members worthless, lawyer tells court

First Nations that occupy what is now southern Manitoba entered into a treaty with the Crown in 1871 that promised each member a $3 annuity while allowing settlers access to more than 40,000 square kilometres of land.

The annuity was increased four years later to $5, where it has remained for more than 150 years.

Lawyers for Treaty 1 territory First Nations are in a Winnipeg court seeking billions of dollars in compensation for annuity payments they argue have lost all value,

The original treaty was negotiated by the Crown when it wanted to open up Manitoba to settlement, but “did not have the military resources to take the territory by force,” Michael Rosenberg, lawyer for representative plaintiff Zongidaya Nelson of Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation, told King’s Bench Justice Shane Perlmutter in his opening address Monday.

“First Nations recognized their traditional way of life was coming to an end as a result of the incursion of settlers into their territory and they were prepared to share the land in exchange for the Crown’s commitment to the future prosperity of their people,” Rosenberg said.

The treaty, which was to be in effect in perpetuity, recognized that Indigenous people, once settled on reserves, would be unable to sustain themselves as they had before, Rosenberg said.

“It is necessary to augment the annuity payments under Treaty 1 to restore the real or relative value and to give effect to their parties’ agreement,” he said. “The annuity was intended to ensure the survival of the First Nations by preventing their members from falling into poverty.”

Since entering the treaty, the benefits reaped by the Crown “have only soared,” Nelson said in a news release issued Monday.

“The annuity under Treaty 1 was always supposed to be a meaningful amount of money to provide beneficiaries with what they need,” Nelson said. “We have been left with no choice but to take Canada to court to enforce our treaty rights and secure what is rightfully owed to our children and future generations.”

In a statement of defence filed earlier, the federal government argued Canada is under no obligation to adjust the annuity for inflation.

“Canada says the parties did not intend the treaty annuity to provide anything more than the fixed payment specified in the treaty text,” the statement said.

The trial is set for three weeks.