Canada’s Supreme Court ruled that the Ontario and federal governments made a “mockery” of the 1850 Robinson Treaties, by which Anishinaabe First Nations of Lake Huron and Lake Superior ceded territory to the British Crown, in exchange for perpetual annual payments. The Robinson agreements included an augmentation clause, through which payments would increase, depending on the profits obtained by the Crown through the exploitation of resources from the ceded land. However, a limit to the annuities was set at CAD 4 per status member of the First Nation, and was not increased since 1874 despite development and growth excluding First Nations. The Court ruled that annuities should have been augmented, and the government’s failure to do so constituted an egregious and longstanding breach of agreed terms. It further decided that compensation, which Lake Superior First Nations asked should reach CAD 126 billion, should be negotiated between the parties. Other First Nations from the Lake Huron region settled with the government last year for CAD 10 billion.

Sources: Supreme Court of Canada, Canada’s National Observer, The Guardian

The Supreme Court of Canada issued a ruling about collective rights of Indigenous Peoples. The ruling upheld the requirement that individuals who wish to be elected to the Vuntut Giwtchin First Nation of Yukon’s Council must reside on traditional lands. The case was brought by a member of the community who lives outside of traditional lands. The Court determined that the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples, protected by Section 25 of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, prevail in certain circumstances over individual rights. That is, when a collision of irreconcilable rights occurs, those that are indispensable to the preservation of cultural differences and self-government should prevail. Dissenting judges, including Michelle O’Bonsawin, an Odenak First Nation Member, considered that Section 25 was applicable to cases brought by non-Indigenous people, and not to cases in which an Indigenous person alleges a transgression to her rights in her own Nation. The Court’s decision was hailed by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation as a recognition of Indigenous self-government.   

Sources: The Globe and Mail , Supreme Court of Canada 

A ruling by a federal court has stated that the government’s use of the Emergencies Act to respond to the “Freedom Convoy” protests in 2022 was unreasonable and contrary to protesters’ rights. According to the federal judge’s decision, in a case brought by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Constitution Foundation, and two interested parties who had their bank accounts frozen on the basis of the Act, no national emergency justified its use.  

The ruling contradicts the findings of the Rouleau Commission, a public inquiry mandated to investigate the use of the Emergencies Act, which concluded in February 2023 that the threshold needed for that effect had been met. The government has stated it will appeal the federal court’s decision. 

Sources: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, The Guardian, International IDEA 

An increase in hate crimes in Canada has been recorded since the October escalation of violence between Hamas and Israel. In Montreal, Molotov cocktails were set alight outside a synagogue and a Jewish community centre, and gunfire was reportedly directed against two empty Jewish schools.

According to Montreal Police, since 7 October and as of early November, 48 hate incidents targeting the Jewish community had been recorded, as well as 17 hate incidents targeting the Arab-Muslim community. This constitutes a significant increase, given that during all last year, 238 incidents were recorded in total.

Clashes and tension between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters have also been reported, including in Montreal’s Concordia University, where a student was injured, and another charged with assault.

Sources: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, The Globe and Mail (1), The Globe and Mail (2)