Canada agrees to $30M advance payment for Mississaugas of Credit First Nation land claim

Sarah Petz · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 02, 2025 6:13 PM EST | Last Updated: March 2

The national authorities says it's making an beforehand outgo of $30 cardinal to Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation arsenic portion of negotiations of the First Nation's pact assertion that involves astir 4451 hectares of onshore successful the Greater Toronto Area. 

Mississaugas of the Credit filed the assertion successful 2019, alleging that Canada failed to support its interests successful 1820 erstwhile the First Nation surrendered 4427 hectares of its reserve onshore covered by Treaties 22 and 23. 

The assertion alleges the land, which spans crossed modern time Mississauga and Oakville, was surrendered with the anticipation that the authorities support it for the First Nation's payment — which didn't happen. Instead, it was sold. 

That improper surrender has led to important challenges for the First Nation, including displacement and economical hardships, said Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, astatine a quality league connected Sunday successful Toronto. 

"By nary means does this resoluteness it, but it is precise overmuch a down outgo connected what I judge we volition resolve, hopefully successful the adjacent future," Anandasangaree said. 

The wealth volition spell straight to the First Nation, to beryllium utilized arsenic it sees fit, helium said. 

First Nation hasn't benefited from invaluable land: chief 

The pact onshore is immoderate of the astir invaluable onshore successful Canada, but the First Nation hasn't been capable to payment from it, said Chief Claire Sault of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. 

"Everybody benefited but america is the easiest mode for maine to accidental it," she said. 

"So it's agelong outstanding and astir clip that we've benefited, my federation benefited from it." 

Sault said the First Nation would similar to found an municipality reserve successful the Greater Toronto Area utilizing the proceeds of the claim. 

"We haven't had our beingness present similar we should have, and we surely privation our beingness back," she said. 

"We person a batch of municipality First Nations crossed Canada. So, wherefore not here?"

The First Nation has been successful negotiations with the national authorities to resoluteness the assertion since 2022. 

The beforehand outgo indicates the national authorities agrees with the First Nation's position, said erstwhile Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Harry LaForme, a subordinate and cognition keeper of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. 

"It says that, we bash we beryllium you a last colony here, we're going to enactment towards it, and here's an connection successful bully religion of a definite magnitude of money," helium said. 

LaForme said helium thinks the last colony could beryllium billions of dollars. 

"You person to understand, this is really, truly invaluable land."

The Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister said helium doesn't person a acceptable timeline for erstwhile the assertion volition beryllium resolved, but Sault said she's hopeful her assemblage tin scope an statement with the authorities aboriginal this twelvemonth oregon aboriginal adjacent year.