Keewatin v. Minister of Natural Resources

Part 11. Post-Treaty Events 188[969] Chartrand's report, Ex. 60, contains the following at p. 330: "Upon returning to power,John A. Macdonald led the new Dominion Government's resolve to refuse to ratify the boundaryaward." [References omitted.][970] 1879. In March 1879, after its repeated requests that Canada pass legislation toimplement the Boundary Award had gone unanswered, Ontario passed An Act respecting theAdministration of Justice in the Northerly and Westerly parts of Ontario and appointed twostipendiary magistrates to superintend its new territory: E.B. Borron in the northern portion (theDistrict of Nipissing), and W.D. Lyon in the western section (the District of Thunder Bay.)(Chartrand's report, Ex. 60 at p. 332.)[971] The Dominion Government continued to ignore Ontario's actions (Chartrand's report, Ex.60 at p. 332.)[972] 1880. In a letter dated January 20, 1880, the federal Minister of Justice wrote, "[A]s theParliament of Canada has not yet legislated upon the subject, the question of the boundariesremains, as a matter of law, unsettled."2011 ONSC 4801 (CanLII)[973] Saywell's report, Ex. 137-2, contains the following at p. 14:When the matter arose in the Commons, Macdonald charged that … the arbitrators had determinednot the "true" but the "best line they could under the circumstances." He would not accept a decisionby a "bad tribunal," only one member of which was an expert "in the construction of Statutes," to"give away territory equal to any great European kingdom" in "utter disregard of the interests of theDominion."[974] Chartrand's report, Ex. 60, contains the following at p. 218: "Between 1875 and 1880most Treaty 3 reserves, including some located in the more remote parts of the Treaty territory,were selected although several reserves remained to be surveyed." [References omitted.][975] Chartrand wrote in Ex. 60 at pp. 332-333:By early 1880, John A. Macdonald was also … beginning to articulate an alternative challenge toOntario's ability to administer lands and resources contained within the territory awarded by theBoard of Arbitration. In February 1880, the House of Commons returned to debating the merits orvalidity of the 1878 decision. On February 16th, a Member of Parliament inquired whether thegovernment intended in the current session to "propose a measure ratifying the award on the subjectof the boundary between Canada and Ontario." John A. Macdonald provided the response for thegovernment, bluntly stating "It is not the intention of the Government to propose any such measure."The House of Commons returned to the boundary issue on February 18th, in a debate … pertaining toa bill … requesting the House of Commons to affirm the 1878 arbitration award. A motion wasimmediately introduced by Simon J. Dawson (then M.P. for Algoma) to have a parliamentarycommittee appointed to review the evidence presented in 1878 to the Board of Arbitration and reexaminethe basis and validity of its decision. This was followed by several speeches in whichvarious members of the House debated key aspects of Dominion and Ontario arguments in theboundary case. At the end of the debate, John A. Macdonald explained his support for reviewing thebasis of the award:…The utter disregard of the interests of the Dominion which are involved in this matter is onethat calls for the most serious consideration of this House, as well as for the most serious