When First Nations and provincial and federal officials came together last weekend to celebrate a monumental settlement of a historic wrong, one important detail was sidelined.
The price.
All the speakers elaborated on the century-old history of the Treaty 8 issue, the quarter-century of negotiations on how to rectify the injustice and the implications of the deal that was finally reached.
But there was no mention of the costs. When a reporter inquired, federal Crown Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller divulged it — $800 million in federal cash, plus title to 443 square kilometres of Crown land from B.C.
He also explained the rationale for soft-pedaling it.
“There is still a lot of stigma levelled on communities based on financial compensation of this nature because of the ignorance that exists in the wider segment of society with respect to the nature of these claims globally.”
Miller said the total was left out deliberately — “not made proactively public.” But all spending shows up eventually in parliamentary documents, so he confirmed the $800-million figure. It’s a debatable proposition whether downplaying a fundamental part of the deal combats ignorance or contributes to it.
He filled in more details about the sensitivities around the amount.
“There is extreme reticence… in communities (in context: First Nations communities) about the effect of a cash influx and the stigma that occurs with the perceived ‘windfall’ that this could be for the communities.
“This isn’t a windfall. It is not free money. It is a bill that has gone unpaid for over 100 years by the government of Canada.
“So if there is any stigma and prejudice to be levelled on anyone it is on the government of Canada and not on our treaty partners whose obligations we disrespected for 100 years.”
He said the treaties were constitutional documents and “Canada has disrespected them from day one. “So these are bills long past due and they will be game changers for economic development in the north.”
The deal arises from the eighth major treaty signed in 1899 with bands across northern B.C. and Alberta. A set amount of land was “granted” to bands based on number of members. But then they were double-crossed. Members were under-counted dramatically, and the acreages were reduced.
Fast forward to the turn of this century and there was the dawning realization in governments that timber, oil and gas, and other resources had been exploited for decades across a huge swath of B.C. with no recognition that much of it was on land that should have belonged to First Nations.
B.C. First Nations covered in Treaty 8 headed for court.
Fast forward again to 2021 when a key move was made that led directly to Saturday’s announcement.
It was the capitulation of the B.C. government in the argument. After the B.C. Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that the Blueberry River First Nation’s rights had been violated by the treaty, then-attorney general David Eby decided not to appeal.
Given the victorious march of Indigenous leaders through the courts going back decades, it was a sound decision. Negotiations commenced instead, they widened to include the Halfway River, Doig River, Salteau and West Moberly First Nations, and the talks led to the deal.
The fear of stigma extends to any breakdown of the settlement values, so they aren’t included.
But based on interim and preliminary understandings reached earlier this year, much of the money will be spent on the land.
Bands will get a generous share for land restoration and wildlife stewardship, and a much larger sum for a general restoration fund, along with millions in direct financial assistance and an opportunity for a share in oil and gas revenues.
For the Blueberry band’s 500 people, about 200 of whom live on the reserve north of Fort St. John, it’s a dramatic reset.
Chief Judy Desjarlais said: “It has been a long road, and we have overcome many significant challenges and obstacles through almost two decades.”
She said the band’s traditional territory is known in their language as “the place where happiness dwells.”
Desjarlais said there was a time when “they were happy and healthy. They took care of the land and the land took care of them.”
If this reset works, they could return to some 21st-century version of the good old days.
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