The Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund is advising beneficiaries and First Nations that the distribution of the multi-million dollar treaty annuities settlement for past compensation may be affected by a pair of outstanding legal matters.
In a cryptic notice issued Friday, the group responsible for the litigation of the treaty annuities claim warned that two court applications will require lawyers’ fees to be taken out of the historic $10-billion settlement, and that distribution of settlement dollars to 21 First Nations in northeastern Ontario could potentially be delayed.
A court hearing has been scheduled for July 30.
“The lawyers’ fees will be paid from the $10-billion settlement for past annuities owed to beneficiaries of the Robinson Huron Treaty,” the notice said. “This means that all fees paid to the lawyers are coming out of the funds for beneficiaries, which may affect you and your First Nation.”
A June 7 application filed in Ontario Superior Court on behalf of Garden River First Nation and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation is asking that the $510 million in legal fees paid out to Nahwegahbow Corbiere Genoodmagejig Barristers and Solicitors for its work on the annuities claim be held in trust while the dollar amount is reassessed in the courtroom.
Both Garden River and Atikameksheng have asked the court to reduce the lawyers’ fees.
The lawyers agreed to allocate half of their earned legal fees from that court case — amounting to $255 million — to support a number of “certain causes associated with the Robinson Huron Treaty First Nations,” according to the notice. It’s currently unclear what those causes are.
Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund (RHTLF) has also filed a court application in order to determine whether the remaining settlement funds are considered assets of RHTLF, which could mean that additional steps are required before the funds can be distributed to beneficiaries.
Settlement dollars were initially anticipated to begin flowing into all 21 First Nations next month.
The historic settlement provides past compensation to Robinson Huron Treaty beneficiaries after not seeing an increase to annual treaty payments for 150 years, as wealth generated in the territory through resource revenues from the mining, forestry and fishing sectors continued to grow.
The annual treaty payments to Anishinaabe beneficiaries, known as annuities, have remained capped at $4 per person since 1875. Prior to that, the annuities were equivalent to $1.60 per person.
In 2018, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled the Crown had an obligation under a clause in the 1850 treaty to increase annuities as wealth generated from the land grew over time, so long as the Crown can do so without incurring a loss.
A $10-billion settlement was announced in 2023, with Canada and Ontario paying out $5 billion each, despite the province proceeding with an appeal of previous court decisions during the annuities claim.
Increases to future annuity payments, meanwhile, have yet to be determined.
A court hearing is scheduled for July 30 at 10 a.m. All beneficiaries of the Robinson Huron Treaty are welcome to watch the hearing, either in person or by videoconference. The courthouse is located on the 8th floor of 330 University Avenue in Toronto. A link to the videoconference will be made available on the RHTLF website and Facebook page closer to the date of hearing.