The 1894 Indian Lands Agreement
Because of the JCPC ruling, the Dominion and Ontario governments entered into an agreement in order to deal with the fact that the Dominion Government had promised reserves under Treaty No. 3, but Ontario had not taken part in the Treaty. The province was not involved in the Treaty talks and had not given consent to the size and location of reserves. For Ontario, Canada had promised the Indians land that it did not own.
In 1894, the two governments agreed that any future Treaties in Ontario would have to be negotiated with Ontario and approved by Ontario. This is why Ontario played a significant role in the making of Treaty No. 9 in 1905. Ontario was not about to let Canada make promises to the Indians about reserve lands and related matters without first getting Ontario’s permission.
You can view the 1894 Agreement between Canada and Ontario below.
Author: Janet Armstrong, PhD