Payments from $10B Robinson Huron Treaty settlement may be delayed

Two northern First Nations challenging legal fees Two northern Ontario First Nations will be challenging $500 million in legal fees associated with the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund.

The Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund (RHTLF) is advising treaty beneficiaries and First Nations that the distribution of the multi-billion dollar treaty annuities settlement for past compensation may be “affected” by a pair of outstanding legal matters.

RHTLF, the group responsible for the litigation of the treaty annuities claims, issued a notice on Friday warning that two court applications will require lawyers’ fees to be taken out of the $10-billion settlement and that distribution of settlement dollars to the 21 First Nations in northeastern Ontario could potentially be delayed.

A court hearing has been scheduled for July 30 to address the situation.

“The lawyers’ fees will be paid from the $10-billion settlement for past annuities owed to beneficiaries of the Robinson Huron Treaty,” the notice said.

“This means that all fees paid to the lawyers are coming out of the funds for beneficiaries, which may affect you and your First Nation.”

Both Garden River First Nation and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation have asked the courts to reduce the legal fees associated with the historic settlement.

An application filed June 7 in Ontario Superior Court on behalf of Garden River and Atikameksheng is asking that the $510 million in lawyer’s fees paid out to Nahwegahbow Corbiere Genoodmagejig Barristers and Solicitors for its work on the annuities claim case be held in trust while the dollar amount is reassessed in the courtroom.

According to the notice, the lawyers have agreed to allocate half of their earned legal fees from that court case – $255 million – to support a number of “certain causes associated with the Robinson Huron Treaty First Nations.” However, neither the notice nor the law firm has made it clear what those causes are.

RHTLF has also filed a court application in order to determine whether the remaining settlement funds are considered its assets, which could mean that additional steps are required before the funds can be distributed to beneficiaries.

It was initially anticipated that settlement dollars would begin flowing into all 21 First Nations next month, though now these legal matters put that into question.

A court hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on July 30. All beneficiaries of the Robinson Huron Treaty are invited to watch the hearing, either in person at the courthouse on University Avenue in Toronto, Ont., or by videoconference. LHTLF advised a link to the videoconference will be made available on its website and social media page closer to the date of the hearing.

A copy of the notice issued by LHTLF can be found here.