$4.1 million awarded to Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation in federal settlement
The Government of Canada has negotiated a settlement with Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation for lost salaries and annuities promised to chiefs and headmen under Treaty 6.
“Obviously the financial compensation but also respect and dignities something that was denied from the communities,” said the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller.
The government paid out $4,101,046 to Beardy’s & Okemasis’ Cree Nation in June 2022 to settle the Salaries Specific Claim.
From 1885 to 1951 the band says it was without salary compensation.
The government revoked the payments to the First Nations just after the North West Resistance due to their involvement in the uprising.
Chief Edwin Ananas of the Beardy’s & Okemasis’ Cree Nation says he was honoured to accept the retribution on behalf of Chief Beardy and Okemasis who have passed on.
“It’s going to show us that Canada is living up to its obligations and fulfilling its claim to First Nations people,” said Ananas.
The band council hasn’t decided on how or when they will disperse the payment.
Ananas says in the past, payments were dispersed among all 3,600 on-reserve and off-reserve members.
Miller says the Government of Canada will continue to work with First Nations to settle outstanding treaty claims across the country. This includes the “cows and plows” claim with Beardy’s & Okemasis’ Cree Nation, that Ananas says wasn’t fulfilled.
“Canada denied access to agricultural implements through the years and recognizing that is one step, compensating is another,” said Miller.
The bands have two other outstanding treaty claims for flooding and soldiers.
The salary claims took 13 years to settle since the band first made an application in 2009.
The government says the compensation is for the Crown’s failure to fulfil a legal obligation of the Crown to provide lands or other assets agreed to in the treaty.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.