The Office of the Treaty Commissioner affirms that nation-to-nation treaties negotiated between First Nations and the Crown are living frameworks that govern Treaty territories “as long as the sun shines, the grass grows, and the rivers flow.”

In 1982, when Canada repatriated its Constitution, it recognized and affirmed existing Aboriginal and Treaty rights under Section 35, and is thereby bound by the honour of the Crown to uphold these rights. Canadian provinces hold limited authority and jurisdiction through the Canadian federation.

The Constitution includes the Royal Proclamation of 1763. It sets out the Crown’s understanding of the processes required for its governments to enter onto First Nation lands. First Nations governments negotiate in accordance with their longstanding traditions of Treaty-making, and the Crown negotiates for Canada in accordance with its own customs and laws.

All of Saskatchewan is Treaty territory, not just reserve lands. The numbered Treaties were intended to protect First Nations ways of life for future generations and to mitigate the impacts of settlement on lands and livelihoods. All those who live in shared Treaty territories are intended to benefit from Treaties. We are all Treaty People. Even though the Crown has a long history of passing policy that has not honoured First Nations understandings of Treaty, First Nations have maintained their Treaty obligations and continue to share the lands in peace and harmony with their Treaty partners.

Proposed changes to the Constitution Act that threaten the integrity of the numbered Treaties are not merely provincial issues; they are Treaty issues. The potential separation of any province affects all those who hold rights under Treaties 1 to 11 as the Treaties are an interrelated bundle.    

In keeping with our mandate, which includes public education on Treaty, the OTC expresses concern about rhetoric that seeks to undermine or diminish the constitutional protection afforded to Aboriginal and Treaty rights under First Nations law and the Canadian Constitution. The OTC believes that language portraying these rights as illegitimate or incompatible with democracy can contribute to misunderstanding, polarization, and discrimination against First Nations. While public debate about constitutional issues is protected in a democratic society, Canadian law also recognizes limits where expression crosses into the willful promotion of hatred against identifiable groups.

In addition, rhetoric that frames Aboriginal and Treaty rights as anti-democratic has broad consequences for all of Canada. Treaties are a foundational pillar of Canadian democracy, contributing to the legitimacy of Canada’s claims to sovereignty in much of the West. The courts have interpreted the purpose of s.35 as reconciling Indigenous peoples’ inherent sovereignty with Crown assertions. The federal government recognizes First Nations self-government as part of s.35 in its 1995 Inherent Rights Policy. Efforts to dismiss or minimize s.35 threaten the self-determination of First Nations across Canada.

Aboriginal and Treaty rights are also protected under Section 25 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which requires the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all citizens under the Charter to be interpreted in ways that do not threaten Aboriginal and Treaty rights.

To deny, disparage or diminish Treaty rights undermines the truth that we are all Treaty people.