KIIWETINOONG -- Sol Mamakwa, Ontario NDP critic for Indigenous and Treaty Relations, released the following statement in support of the three First Nations who filed a claim against Ontario to protect their Treaty rights under Treaty No. 9:
“I stand with Chapleau Cree, Missanabie Cree, and Brunswick House First Nations in their fight to defend their traditional ways of life. The Ontario government has a responsibility to ensure that our ways of life and right to hunt and harvest on treaty territories are protected. The treaty is not being upheld.
Doug Ford and the Ontario government should put words into action and properly uphold the nation-to-nation relationship between these First Nations and the Crown. That means working with First Nations instead of forcing them to fight in court. Take, for example, the Robinson Treaties Annuity case — which the government has appealed instead of negotiating a settlement.
The Ontario NDP urges the Ford government to uphold and honour all Treaties. These are agreements that embody the nation-to-nation relationship between First Nations and the Crown and they cannot be violated without consequence.”