The Lawsuit

Traditional Mushkegowuk Territory

Traditional Mushkegowuk Territory

The purpose of this lawsuit is to legally require that the government recognize and abide by the solemn promises made to the people of Taykwa Tagamou at the New Post trading post on August 21, 1905.  The lawsuit has been started by Peter Archibald, an Elder and former Chief of Taykwa Tagamou Nation, on behalf of all the members of his First Nation.

The lawsuit does not ask for any monetary compensation for present or past breaches of the Treaty.  Rather, the lawsuit asks the court to make legally binding declarations affirming the Treaty promises made to the people of Taykwa Tagamou, so that the government will be required to respect the rights of the people of Taykwa Tagamou Nation.  Specifically, the lawsuit asks the court to rule that Treaty 9 does not permit the government to extinguish the rights of Taykwa Tagamou members to hunt and fish over lands in their traditional territory (for example, by allowing ecologically disruptive mining development) without the First Nation’s consent.

The “defendants” in the lawsuit are the governments of Canada and Ontario and two mining exploration companies that have staked mining claims and been conducting exploration activity in Taykwa Tagamou Nation traditional territory without the consent of the First Nation.