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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2001

The Lac La Ronge First Nation does not deserve any more land than it already has, Saskatchewan's highest court ruled on Tuesday.

Overturning a lower court decision that was an "error of law", the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal said the band is entitled to land based on its population in the late 1800s, when a treaty was signed with the Queen. With few exceptions, the treaty ended all future land entitlements, said a three-judge panel in a unanimous decision.

The ruling is a setback to the Lac La Ronge, who relied on the oral history of elders to bolster its claim. In December 1999, a lower court judge said the band was entitled to an additional 5,000 square miles of land because the federal government failed to completely live up to its promises and took 80 years to finalize the agreement.

But that ruling was based on the band's current population of about 7,000 members. Finding a treaty Lac La Ronge ancestors signed in 1889 was silent -- but not ambiguous -- on the issue, the appeals court yesterday said the intention was to set aside land based on the population at the time and not a future date.

Relying on provisions consistent with the historic Treaty 6, the appeals court said "the entitlement would be calculated on the basis of the population of the Band at or near the time the land is surveyed."

Rejecting the unfulfilled promise argument, the court added: "There is no credible basis for using a different time for calculating reserve land entitlement where a band does not receive its full entitlement."

Therefore, based on the band's historic population of 526 members, the proper amount of reserve land was set aside by the federal government. At 128 acres per member, the entitlement is about 68,000 acres.

Under the lower court ruling, the First Nation would have gotten more than 800,000 acres in additional land to its existing 107,000 acres.

Along with the entitlement question, the Lac La Ronge raised the issue of an attempt to create a reserve. The appeals court agreed there was a failure but that the band "has no legally recognized interest" in those lands.

The appeals court also rejected the band's claim to a set of school lands. The federal government never intended the lands to be a reserve, said the court.

Despite the reversal, the band is probably entitled to some form of monetary compensation. Even though lands were set aside as recently as the 1960s, the court said the delay might require some form of payment.

Additionally, the failure to provide twine and ammunition for the band necessitates compensation, said the court.

In an interview with CBC Radio, a lawyer for the band said the decision would be appealed to the Supreme Court. Other First Nations had been looking to this ruling for guidance on their own claims.

Lac La Ronge band members live on several reserves in northern Saskatchewan.

Get the Decision:
Lac La Ronge Indian Band v. Canada (Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, October 23, 2001, 2001 SKCA 109)

Relevant Links:
Lac La Ronge First Nation - http://www.sicc.sk.ca/bands/blacla.html
Land Claim, Lac La Ronge - http://www.ualberta.ca/~esimpson/claims/LacaRonge.htm
First Nations Treaty Area, Saskatchwean - http://www.sicc.sk.ca/bands/treaty.html
Treaty 6 - http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/trts/trty6_e.html