Keewatin reversal a disappointment

Last month, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its unanimous decision reversing the trial judgment of Justice Mary Sanderson in the Keewatin case from Treaty 3 territory.  This decision came less than two months after lengthy oral arguments in late January. The Court of Appeal ruled that the province has the right to “take up” treaty land for mining and forestry and does not need the federal government’s approval. The Grassy Narrows First Nation challenged Ontario’s right to permit industrial logging on its traditional lands, saying it infringed on their hunting and trapping rights under a treaty they signed in 1873. “On behalf of First Nations in Ontario, I wish to express my disappointment with the Keewatin decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal. This was a unique opportunity for the Canadian judicial system to support the true spirit and intent of important treaty rights. Instead, the court fell back on dubious and one-sided jurisprudence from over 100 years ago. It seems that nothing has changed in Canada. The Canadian governments and their courts are wrong if they think this kind of dismissal will put First Nations in their place and create certainty in the resource development sector. Nothing could be further from the truth.  As long as the spirit and intent of the treaties are disrespected, the only result will be uncertainty and unrest,” said Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy, in a news release.