Keewatin v. Minister of Natural Resources

Part 11. Post-Treaty Events 221According to the old documents and treaties, they could not stop us from hunting trapping andfishing. It is in no way to interfere with these documents. There is no such thing as a law governingthe treaties. THE TREATY SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.If the Indians are not allowed to hunt, they will starve.By the organized Indians of the Northwest Angle Treaty No. 3.[Emphasis added.][1147] Ontario continued to deny the Treaty 3 Ojibway the right to hunt and fish off-reserveunder the Treaty. Lovisek's report (Ex. 28) refers at p. 161 to a memorandum written by anIndian Agent to Indian Affairs on December 5, 1938 noting that Ontario had passed regulationstaking away all the rights and privileges the Indians thought they had under the Treaty:Indians cannot now kill food or game for food except on their reserves and have to do so for food,therefor being criminals…I dont know what can be done now, but it certainly seems to me we should take some action, as everyIndian has to break the regulations to enable him to get food to exist.2011 ONSC 4801 (CanLII)Fishing and hunting is the most pressing of our problems, and something should be doneimmediately. The Chief and one of the Councillors from Islington Band were in to see me yesterdayand said the Indians would be starving by Christmas as there was very little fur, and whitementrapping in their territory, and legally they could not get fish or meat for food for themselves or theirfamilies ... Previously I used to tell them to …put up fish and meat, now if I tell them to do this I amconniving in the breaking of the regulations, and presumably might be held liable myself.[Emphasis added.][1148] Ontario's response to Canada's and the Ojibway's assertion that the Ojibway hadHarvesting Rights off-reserve under the Treaty was described in 1939 by Indian Agent Edwardsin a letter dated April 15, 1939 [Ex. 1, Vol. 18, tab 858] to M. Christianson, GeneralSuperintendent of Agencies:I dislike keeping bringing up before the Department the question of trapping, hunting and fishingproblems of my Indians, but Ottawa apparently has no idea how serious the matter is…They cannot kill a deer on the reserve for food and take a piece of the meat with them off reservewhen traveling without being liable for prosecution. And they can be fined for this. They cannot fishfor food, with twine given them by us under Treaty stipulations, without being liable, and have beenfined and their boats and nets seized and not been given back without payment for the return of them... Mr. Taylor, Deputy Minister of Game and Fisheries, when talking to me last summer, said it wasnothing to do with him when asked how the Indians were going to make a living, that was "ourDepartment's baby", not his. The Indians were not going to live on the Province's moose, deer, fishetc., and some other way of their making a living should be devised by us.The Indians and all of us are very much discouraged. They say the treaty was signed for as long asthe rivers flow etc. and we are breaking the treaty.[Emphasis added.][1149] It appears from Taylor's response, quoted above, that as of 1939, Ontario was pointedlyrefusing to recognize any responsibility to respect or honour the Treaty promises.