Lead consultant for RHT annuities settlement disputes reasons for dismissal

The retired justice who was hired to lead community consultations on the annuities claim and proposed $10-billion settlement for Robinson Huron Treaty beneficiaries is countering an assertion that his role was terminated in part over a conflict of interest. 

In a Sept. 15 letter addressed to members of the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund (RHTLF), Harry LaForme said he provided timely disclosure to lead counsel David Nahwegahbow in late August that Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP — the Toronto-based law firm that LaForme works for as senior legal counsel — had been retained to provide independent legal advice on the settlement agreement. He has also denied that a conflict of interest existed.   

RHTLF chair Mike Restoule had previously advised LaForme in a Sept. 12 letter that one of the issues leading to the decision to dissolve both the Office of Mizhinawe and LaForme’s role stemmed from the timing of the disclosure “so we could discuss it and agree on a way forward.”

“David [Nahwegahbow] did not express any professional or personal concerns to me about it,” said LaForme in the letter, which was also addressed to chiefs of the Robinson Huron Treaty First Nations. “I heard nothing further about this matter until your Sept. 12 letter, some four days after my resignation was tendered.

“In other words, timely disclosure was made by me. Further, I do not share the view that a conflict of interest existed.” 

Laforme added that he did not complete the aspects required of the Mizhinawe — regarded as a central figure in traditional Anishinaabe leadership that played a role in formal business and negotiations with chiefs — under the proposed settlement agreement and the litigation fund’s terms of reference. “Your letter in this regard is erroneous,” he said in the letter. 

A motion was tabled and passed in accordance with the Robinson Huron Treaty (RHT) trust indenture to dissolve the Office of Mizhinawe and “continue the work at the local level” during meetings held between RHTLF and First Nations leadership in Sault Ste. Marie Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. 

In LaForme’s termination letter, Restoule blasted the retired justice for his “extremely negative” resignation letter and interim report on the community engagement sessions which took place in First Nations across RHT territory over the course of the summer.     

“It is too negative,” said Restoule in the Sept. 12 letter. “Sure, there were concerns expressed in the community sessions, but overall, the sessions went well, and the comments were positive. As you yourself indicated, the first few sessions were a little rough, but as we progressed the sessions went more smoothly, and community members were very appreciative. 

“The overly negative tone in your interim report is one of the main reasons the chiefs and trustees decided to discontinue your role and dissolve the Office of Mizhinawe.”

LaForme abruptly tendered his resignation from Office of Mizhinawe Sept. 9, while RHT chiefs and community members were taking part in a treaty renewal ceremony in Sault Ste. Marie to cap off the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850 Gathering. 

One of the reasons cited by LaForme was an “over the top reaction” to the interim report on community consultations that he had submitted to RHTLF Aug. 25. 

“I am very disappointed to learn that instead of seeing it as an opportunity to course correct at this crucial juncture in the engagement process, some of you were angered by some of its contents,” Laforme wrote in that letter. “For the record, I stand by the contents of the interim report and I am grateful for the stellar work and contributions of the academics who assisted in writing it.” 

Although RHT trustees and First Nations leadership had already decided his fate, LaForme was only notified of his dismissal from his role as Mizhinawe days after he tendered his resignation. 

The litigation fund informed the retired justice that it had received advice to wait until the conclusion of the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850 Gathering to notify LaForme of the decision.