Keewatin v. Minister of Natural Resources

Part 4. Euro-Canadian History 1758-1871 32Settlement to take their lands from them by force & advising the Rainy Lake Indians not to assist thesoldiers make any treaty or receive any presents this year.[185] In his report, Ex. 60, Chartrand noted that Simpson in his report to Howe (Ex. 4 at pp.145-146) had presented a verbatim or near verbatim quote of the Head Chief:The head chief said "I do not intend to try and stop the Soldiers from passing through my Lands ontheir way to Red River, but I expect a present and if Mr. Dawson is to make roads through ourcountry I expect to be paid for the right of way. The surveyors burn our woods and we know thatwhen they once come settlers will follow. We have consulted and have come to the determination ofasking the Government for the following, that is, $10[.00] per head each man woman and child perannum, to last as long as the sun shines and a present of a 10 bags-- 50 Bls flour 7 half barrels pork orlard 2 cases tea 2 cases tobacco, to be divided as [at] a feast at the time of the annual payment of$10.00 per head. That we expect an answer to our demand sent to Mr. Pither during the winter,so that we may know how to act and when to assemble for the payment. For this we are willingto allow the Queen's subjects the right to pass through our lands to build and run steamers,build canals and railroads, and to take up sufficient land for building for Government use, butwe will not allow farmers [to settle] on our lands. We want to see how the Red River Indians willbe settled with, and whether the soldiers will take away their lands, we will not take your presents,they are a bait, and if we take them you will say we are bound to you…" [Emphasis added.][186] Simpson advised the Ojibway that they were demanding too much, an amount he thoughtwas sufficient to pay for their lands in full, not to pay for a mere right of way.2011 ONSC 4801 (CanLII)[187] Chartrand's report, Ex. 60, contains the following at p. 93:By 1870, following two years' experience with the construction of an immigrant travel route to RedRiver, the Ojibway understood that Simon Dawson was directly responsible for its construction.Furthermore, the Chief who addressed Wemyss Simpson at Fort Frances in June that year, indicatedthat he expected that some lands along the Dawson route would be required "for Government use".The terms presented for a permanent right-of-way agreement were also understood to being presentedto this "government". In documents alluding to the Chief's address, the specific identity of thisgovernment is not explicitly detailed: available records do not allude to the Chief as referringexplicitly to a "Dominion government", but instead document references to a generic government.[188] After the Red River insurgency was resolved, the Northwest Territories and Rupert'sLand were finally transferred to Canada effective July 15, 1870. The Manitoba Act came intoeffect the same day. (Von Gernet's report, Ex. 44, at p. 37-39.)[189] Chartrand in his report, Ex. 60, wrote the following at pp 307-308The resolution of the Red River rebellion included a negotiated settlement for the creation of theProvince of Manitoba, within a land mass that continued to be officially assumed as forming part ofthe North-West Territories. The original boundaries of Manitoba comprised a relatively small area,centred around the Red River settlement. As a post-Confederation creation of the Dominiongovernment, the Province of Manitoba was not deemed to have the same constitutional status as thefour founding provinces. One of the key differences between Manitoba and the original provincescreated by the 1867 BNA Act concerned jurisdiction over natural resources:While Manitoba became technically a province, it received a kind of special status inreverse. Land and other natural resources remained under the control of central authorities.Canada could thus develop the North-West in an imperial way...[References omitted.]