reconciliation

"We are all Treaty people who share responsibility for taking action on reconciliation" (Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada).

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And so I know that putting up a land acknowledgment is not enough and that I have work to do to make a meaningful contribution to reconciliation. As a start, I've been working on educating myself about the treaties cited in Toronto land acknowledgments. I'm also working on backing this up with action (more on that below).

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Land Acknowledgment and Treaty Research

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Clausework operates out of Toronto, or Tkoronto, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee, and Wendat peoples. This land is covered by the Dish with One Spoon Treaty between the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee, entered into to peacefully share and maintain the land. This land is also covered by the Williams Treaties and Treaty 13, both of which manipulated the signatory First Nations into selling large territories for a mere fraction of their value.

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Treaty 13 was entered into between the Crown and the Mississaugas on August 1, 1805. In exchange for 10 shillings ($68 in today’s dollars), the Mississaugas sold the Crown 250,808 acres covering land spanning a portion of King Township down to the Toronto waterfront and a portion of Etobicoke to Ashbridges Bay. This treaty supposedly formalized an undocumented sale agreed to in 1787 between the Crown and certain chiefs of the Mississaugas who were all dead by 1805.

 

According to the Mississaugas, the 1805 sale far exceeded the area of land agreed to in 1787. The Mississaugas also felt pressured to agree to the 1805 sale because they needed Crown protection from settlers who had moved in and threatened their access to traditional camping and fishing grounds.

 

In 1998, the Mississaugas of the Credit filed a claim against the Government of Canada for damages reflecting the value of the lands sold to the Crown under Treaty 13. In 2010, Canada settled the claim (along with another) for $145 million, the bulk of which was put in trust for the community but also distributed $20,000 to each adult band member. Reaction to the settlement was mixed, with some viewing the total paid as insufficient.

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The Williams Treaties, finalized in 1923, provided for the surrender of the last substantial portion of the territory in the southern regions of Ontario that had not been given up to government. The Chippewas and Mississaugas who signed the Treaties had no legal representation in negotiations and received modest, one-time lump sum payments of $25 per person. The Treaties also required them to surrender their hunting and fishing rights.

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The seven First Nations affected by the Williams Treaties commenced litigation in 1992, challenging the making, terms, interpretation, and implementation of the Williams Treaties.  The case went to trial in 2012 and was settled in 2018. The terms of the negotiated settlement included financial compensation of $1.11 billion, an entitlement for each First Nation to add up to 11,000 acres of land to their reserve land base, recognition of continuing treaty harvesting rights, and an apology from the federal and Ontario governments.

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Unsurprisingly, the settlement doesn't provide full restitution. Among other things, the settlement does not restore access to all traditional fishing grounds, and the First Nations are paying land taxes on the land to be added to their reserve land base pending finalization of the Additions to Reserve process.

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Backing It Up With Action

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As I continue to develop my practice, I see reconciliation as a personal and professional responsibility. Some of the ways this shows up in my work include:​

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• Continuing to learn: I commit to understanding the history and ongoing impacts of colonialism, including the overcriminalization, sexualization, and marginalization of Indigenous peoples, and how these realities are reflected in workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination.

• Supporting Call to Action #92: I see my role in helping employers fulfill this call by designing policies and programs that are informed by history, respectful of Indigenous rights and identity, and attentive to equity.

• Applying an intersectional lens: I am always mindful of how systemic inequities manifest in workplaces and provide advice, training, and investigations that reflect that awareness, always with humility and a recognition that I am learning alongside others.

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This is not a checklist or a one-time project. It’s a lifelong, imperfect commitment to practicing law differently—and to using my work to support a more just, equitable future.

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October 2025

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