Treaties Recognition Week
This week is Treaties Recognition Week in Ontario. Blackbird team members Travis Boissoneau, CPA, CMA , Vice President, and Olivier Cullen , Director of Strategy, discuss the significance of the week and how litigation efforts may impact the future of treaties in the province and across the country.
In 2016, the Ontario government passed legislation declaring the first full week of November as Treaties Recognition Week. The week was created in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action to increase overall awareness of treaties and provide the public with an opportunity to learn about their history and significance.
Treaties Recognition Week is more than a symbolic gesture; it is a vital opportunity to learn about and remember the foundational role treaties have played in shaping Canada. These agreements remind us that Canada was built on promises of mutual respect and coexistence. Yet, as First Nation leadership continues to emphasize, we have much further to go.
Education regarding treaties must be embedded at every level of our children's education journey, ensuring future generations understand that treaties are not historic relics but are living agreements that should never be confined to the narrow interpretations of colonial court systems.
Recent developments in litigation have moved the needle on these foundational agreements, showing progress in Treaty recognition and justice for those involved.
The success of the Robinson Huron Treaty annuities case, which resulted in a $10-billion settlement, marked a pivotal moment in acknowledging the Crown’s duty to honour its financial commitments. This landmark decision highlighted the failure to adjust annuities despite increasing revenues generated from the shared lands. In the wake of this precedent, other numbered treaties have initiated their own lawsuits. While some of these treaties lack a specific promise to increase payments based on land-generated wealth, the central focus remains on ensuring equal treatment for all First Nations under the Crown’s obligations. This evolving legal landscape underscores the enduring significance of treaties as living agreements, demanding fair and timely fulfilment of promises to Indigenous communities, free from the burdens of prolonged litigation.
The resolution of these critical matters by way of litigation is simply a profound failure of the trust that was supposed to underpin these sacred agreements. The journey of reconciliation demands that we move beyond legal battles toward a future where Canada honours its commitments without coercion or delay.
Treaties Recognition Week challenges us to reflect on this path and commit to a renewed, sustainable relationship—one where the promises made are respectfully kept, and not by way of a courtroom.
Travis Boissoneau, CPA, CMA is Blackbird Strategies’ Vice President. From Parliament Hill to Standing Rock, Travis has stood with First Nations to defend their rights and advance their interests for decades. A proud member of the Anishinabek Nation from the Ojibway Nation of Garden River First Nation, he has dedicated his life to serving First Nations across Ontario, including as the former Chief Administrative Officer of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, as a Regional Deputy Grand Chief of the Anishinabek Nation, and as an advocate on justice issues on behalf of the Leadership Council at Chiefs of Ontario.
Olivier Cullen is Blackbird’s Director of Strategy. His career includes significant roles in the private sector and at the most senior levels of the federal government. For eight years, Olivier served as a senior political advisor, including as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Indigenous Services, where he was instrumental in shaping policy initiatives aimed at improving the lives of Indigenous peoples.