(Ottawa) Two First Nations have filed a lawsuit against lawyers who helped secure a $10-billion settlement between Canada and Ontario, claiming they were overpaid for their work.
The Robinson-Huron Treaty, concluded last year, was intended to address unpaid treaty annuities for 21 First Nations.
The First Nations said the $4 per person rent had not increased since 1874, violating the treaty because resource extraction projects had used their land for generations.
The lawyers who argued for the treaty requested $510 million in legal fees for their work, saying half of that would be used to do more work on the treaty, including new litigation.
But the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek and Garden River First Nation argue that First Nations have already paid millions in legal fees and many have taken out loans to do so. They are asking the Ontario Superior Court to reconsider the decision.
“I want to say that we are very grateful for the results obtained by the lawyers and that we believe that they should be well rewarded for their services. But we do not think that legal costs of $510 million are fair and reasonable,” argued the chief of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation, Craig Nootchtai.
For her part, Garden River First Nation Chief Karen Bell says she has “an obligation to seek accountability and transparency” and that the request should not disrupt payments to beneficiaries.
