Mitaanjigamiing First Nation, Canada and Ontario reach settlement on Treaty 3 Flooding Claim
Abdur Rahman Khan
August, 23, 2022 — Mitaanjigamiing First Nation — Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and the Government of Ontario
Today, Chief Janice Henderson of Mitaanjigamiing First Nation, Jaime Battiste, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, and the Honourable Greg Rickford, Ontario Minister of Indigenous Affairs, announced the successful tripartite settlement agreement between Mitaanjigamiing First Nation, the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario, regarding the Mitaanjigamiing First Nation Treaty 3 Flooding Claim. This settlement will provide Mitaanjigamiing First Nation with $84.45 million in compensation, with Canada paying $45.05 million and Ontario paying $39.4 million.
The claim was filed in response to the unauthorized and uncompensated flooding of reserve land due to the building of a dam across the Rainy River at Fort Frances-International Falls in the early 1900s. The dam has continued to cause ongoing flooding on Mitaanjigamiing First Nation’s reserve lands. Filed in 1994, this claim was accepted for negotiation by Ontario in 2003 and by Canada in April 2009.
Honouring Canada’s and Ontario’s legal obligations to Indigenous Peoples and working collaboratively to resolve historical grievances is fundamental to advancing reconciliation in Canada.
