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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 May 2018
In Canada, Treaty 1 First Nations brought a claim against the Crown for land debt owed to them since 1871. In 2004, Crown land in Winnipeg became available that, according to the terms of the settlement, should have been offered for purchase to Treaty 1 Nations. Similarly, in New Zealand, the Waikato-Tainui claim arose from historical Crown breaches of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. In 1995, a settlement was reached to address the unjust Crown confiscation of Tainui lands. Despite being intended to facilitate the return of traditional territory, compensate for Crown breaches of historic treaties, and indirectly provide opportunity for economic development, in both cases, settlement was met with legal and political challenges. Using a comparative legal analysis, this paper examines how the state continues to use its law-making power to undermine socio-economic development of Indigenous communities in Canada and New Zealand, thereby thwarting opportunity for Indigenous self-determination.
Au Canada, les Premières Nations signataires du Traité no 1 ont intenté une réclamation contre la Couronne pour la dette foncière qui leur est due depuis 1871. En 2004, les terres de la Couronne, à Winnipeg, qui auraient dû, selon les termes de l’accord, être offertes aux nations signataires du Traité no 1 sont devenues disponibles. De manière similaire, en Nouvelle-Zélande, la réclamation de Waikato-Tainui fut le résultat des violations historiques par la Couronne du Traité de Waitangi de 1840. En 1995, un accord fut conclu pour remédier à la confiscation injuste des terres de Tainui par la Couronne. Or, en dépit de l’intention de faciliter le retour des territoires traditionnels, de compenser les violations des traités historiques par la Couronne et de fournir indirectement des possibilités de développement économique, dans les deux cas précédents, les accords furent confrontés à des défis juridiques et politiques. À l’aide d’une analyse juridique comparative, cet article examine comment l’État continue d’utiliser son pouvoir législatif pour saper le développement socioéconomique des communautés autochtones au Canada et en Nouvelle-Zélande, entravant ainsi les possibilités d’autodétermination des peuples autochtones.
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7 An Act to encourage the gradual Civilization of the Indian Tribes in this Province, and to amend the Laws respecting Indians, S Prov C 1857, c 26.
8 Indian Act, RSC 1985 c I-5.
9 See for example: Manitoba Natural Resources Transfer Act, CCSM c N30; Alberta Natural Resources Act, SC 1930, c 3. NRTA transferred jurisdiction over natural resources from the Federal Crown to the Provincial Crown in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
10 The Agreement is alleged to have facilitated the ‘Sixties Scoop,’ as it has come to be called, involving the government-sanctioned removal of an estimated 16,000 Aboriginal children in Ontario, between the years of 1965 and 1984. See: Brown v Attorney General 2014 ONSC 6967.
11 Russell, Canada’s Odyssey, 180–10.
12 Ibid at 180–91. Ladner, “Rethinking,” 43–60.
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22 Orange, The Treaty of Waitangi, 93–113.
23 Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington [1877] 3NZ Jur (NS) 72 (SC) at 2 [Prendergast decision]. Orange, The Treaty of Waitangi, 93–113.
24 Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington at 5.
25 Ibid at 7.
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28 New Zealand, New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General [1989] NZCA 43, Judgment of Cooke at 6 [Lands Case]. While the Court of Appeal reached a unanimous decision, each member set out individual reasons.
29 Treaty of Waitangi Amendment Act 1985 (1985 No 148).
30 The Education Amendment Act 1990 and the NZ Railways Corporation Restructuring Act 1990 are examples of exceptions, whereby the Tribunal is empowered to make binding recommendations regarding the return of certain education lands in the first instance, and railway lands in the second instance, to Māori.
31 Treaty of Waitangi s 3.
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34 New Zealand, State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986 (NZ), 1986/124.
35 Lands Case, Judgment of Cooke, 4.
36 Ibid. Graham Stanley Latimer, “suing on behalf of himself and all persons entitled to the protection of Article II of the Treaty of Waitangi,” is also as a party to the action. Also see judge’s discussion of applicant at 2. An English translation of the Māori version reads: “The Queen of England agrees to protect the chiefs, the subtribes and all the people of New Zealand in the unqualified exercise of their chieftainship over their lands, villages and all their treasures. But on the other hand the chiefs of the Confederation and all the chiefs will sell land to the Queen at a price agreed to by the person owning it and by the person buying it (the latter being) appointed by the Queen as her purchase agent.” (Source: Te Ara—The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, “The three articles of the Treaty of Waitangi.” www.teara.govt.nz.)
37 New Zealand, New Zealand Māori Council & Latimer v Attorney-General [1987] NZHC 78 at 14 [Latimer].
38 Lands Case, Judgment of Cooke, 18.
39 Ibid, Judgment of Cooke, 39.
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44 Ibid Judgment of Cooke, 44.
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53 Brokenhead First Nations v Canada, 2009 FC 982, 2.
54 New Zealand, Waikato Raupatu Claims Settlement Act 1995, 1995 No 58 (RS) [Waikato Settlement Act 1995].
55 See the Manukau Report (Wai 8), 17.
56 Ibid at Preamble section N (English text), quoting NZ Court of Appeal decision: RT Mahuta and Tainui Maori Trust Board v Attorney-General [1989] 2 NZLR 513.
57 Hill, Richard S., State Authority, Indigenous Autonomy Crown-Maori Relations in New Zealand/Aotearoa 1900–1950 (Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2004), 136 (emphasis in the original).Google Scholar
58 Waikato Settlement Act 1995, Preamble (M).
59 Ibid at Preamble (R).
60 Her Majesty the Queen in right of New Zealand and Waikato – Deed of Settlement, 22 May 1995, s 3.4.
61 Ibid, s 3.5.
62 Ibid, s 16(1)(b).
63 In 2006, Peguis First Nation signed a Treaty Entitlement Agreement with Canada, which is similar to, but not part of, the TLE Framework agreement.
64 Ircha, Michael C. and Young, Robert, ed., Federal Property Policy in Canadian Municipalities (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013), 19.Google Scholar
65 Canada has only recognized five claimants, all of whom have outstanding TLE claims: Long Plain FN, Swan Lake FN, Roseau River Anishinabe FN, Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, and under a separate agreement, Peguis FN. On 7 October 2011, Brokenhead FN filed a notice of discontinuance, and is no longer a party to the joint Application.
66 Brokenhead First Nation v Canada, 2009 FC 982, 38.
67 Ibid, 37.
68 Ibid, 28.
69 HMTQ v Brokenhead, 2011 FCA 148, 34.
70 Ibid, 50.
71 Ibid, 38.
72 Ibid, 40.
73 Ibid, 48.
74 Ibid, 51.
75 Long Plain First Nation v HJTQ, 2012 FC 1474 at 80.
76 Ibid, 66.
77 Ibid, 78.
78 Ibid, 69.
79 Ibid, 4.
80 Long Plain First Nation v HMTQ, 2013 FC 86, 7.
81 Brokenhead First Nation v Canada, 2009 FC 982, 38.
82 New Zealand, Her Majesty the Queen in right of New Zealand and Waikato-Tainui, Deed of Settlement, 22 May 1995, “Apology by Crown,” s 3.6. https://www.govt.nz/dmsdocument/3778.pdf.
83 Waikato-Tainui Annual Report 2014. http://versite.co.nz/∼2014/17393/files/ assets/basic-html/index.html#16.
84 Latimer, 88.
85 New Zealand, Waikato Tainui Te Kauhanganui Inc v Hamilton City Council CIV 2009-419-1712 (3 June 2010) [Waikato Tainui v Hamilton] at 8.
86 The New Zealand Resource Management Act 1991 No 69 (RMA) requires all city councils to oversee development in accordance with a District Plan, pursuant to section 73 of the RMA.
87 Waikato-Tainui v Hamilton, 14.
88 Statement of Evidence of Harold Francis Bhana, submission by Tainui Group Holding Ltd on the Proposed Waikato Regional Policy Statement 2010. http://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/PageFiles/21512/11%20May/May%2011%20Item%2014.pdf at 9.2.
89 Waikato Tainui v Hamilton, 14.
90 Ibid, 16.
91 See: Hamilton City Council—Te kaunihera o Kirikiriroa, “Variation 21: Hamilton Central Business District – Strategic Alignment with Future Proof and Hamilton Urban Growth Strategy,” 2013. http://www.hamilton.govt.nz/our-council/council-publications/operativedistrictplan/Pages/Variation-21.aspx.
92 Waikato Tainui v Hamilton, 16.
93 Ibid, 17–18.
94 Ibid, 23.
95 Ibid, 25.
96 See RMA, Schedule 1 s 3.
97 Waikato Tainui v Hamilton, 71.
98 Ibid.
99 Ibid, 88.
100 Ibid, 90.
101 Ibid, 95.
102 Ibid, 103.
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110 Ibid.
111 Stark, “Respect, Responsibility and Renewal,” 156–57.
112 Donald Fixico, Indian Resilience and Rebuilding: Indigenous Nations in the Modern American West (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2013).
113 Department of Indian Affairs, Annual Report 1871, Lieutenant-Governor Archibald to Secretary of State Howe, July 19, 1871, at p 15, quoted in Wayne E. Daugherty, Treaty Research Report: Treaty One and Treaty Two (1871), (Canada: Treaties and Historical Research Centre Research Branch, Corporate Policy, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1983), 7–9, https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ/STAGING/texte-text/tre1-2_1100100028661_eng.pdf.
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115 Indian Claims Commission, 31–32.
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119 Donald Marshall Jr.’s wrongful conviction settlement brought an initial surge of investment into the community in 1990. This was followed in 2000 with the so-called ‘Marshall monies,’ which Mi’kmaw communities received as compensation from the Federal Government, following the Supreme Court’s decision in Marshall, which found the government in breach of its treaty obligations under a 1725 treaty.
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