When First Nations signed treaties with the federal government, certain lands were promised to the First Nations. Certain of those promises have not been kept in full. Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) land is that which is owed to First Nations under the treaties signed with the Government of Canada. The Aboriginal Justice Inquiry (AJI) did not find this to be a complicated issue. In fact, it said,

“There should be no controversy today surrounding the issue of treaty land entitlement. In fact, treaty land entitlement should not even be an outstanding issue. It is a subject that is so simple and straightforward that it never should have arisen as a source of conflict in the first place”. (AJI, Volume I, page 162)

In 1930, through the Manitoba Natural Resources Transfer Agreement (NRTA), which is incorporated into the Constitution Act 1930, all Crown lands were transferred to Manitoba from Canada, subject to a legal requirement to provide unoccupied lands to Canada to enable it to meet its obligations under treaties with First Nations. The Aboriginal Justice Inquiry made a number of comments with respect to TLE, and, in particular, on the formula to be used to calculate the amount of land owed to First Nations.

The AJI recommended that:
• Current population figures be used for entitlement in conjunction with the formula set out in each treaty to determine the precise amount of land that is owed to each First Nation.
• The government of Manitoba institute a moratorium on the disposal of Crown land in the Province and that no Crown land be made available to third parties by grant or lease until all First Nation land selection has been made or without the consent of the treaty land entitlement bands in the region.
• A Treaty Land Entitlement Commission be created for Manitoba, consisting of five members, namely, one provincial nominee, one federal nominee, two nominees from the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and a neutral chairperson selected by the other members of the Commission. This Commission should be empowered to render binding decisions on any disputes that may arise over:
? The exact population of an entitlement band.
? The amount of land originally set aside for the reserve that is to be deducted from the current treaty entitlement.
? The selection of Crown lands to fulfill the entitlement obligation.
? The location of boundaries.
? The amount of financial compensation for the delay.

1) The Treaty Land Entitlement Commission be created by complementary federal and provincial legislation with the endorsement of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. We further recommend that this legislation be drafted jointly by both governments in conjunction with the treaty land entitlement First Nations.

The Commission was advised that there were currently 31 First Nations with TLE claims in Manitoba. Of these 31 First Nations, 27 claims have been accepted by Canada, and seven First Nations have signed individual TLE settlements. They are:
• The four First Nations in the Island Lake area (Wasagamaak, Garden Hill, St. Theresa Point, and Red Sucker Lake), which signed an agreement on March 14, 1994
• The Long Plains First Nation, which signed an agreement on August 3, 1994
• The Swan Lake First Nation, which signed an agreement in March 1995
• Roseau River First Nation, which signed an agreement in March 1996.

On May 29, 1997, 19 First Nations signed the Manitoba Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement. Under this agreement, 445,754 hectares of land will be transferred to First Nation reserves to make up for the shortfall that occurred at the time the reserves were created. The Province of Manitoba will provide 399,008 hectares of Crown land, and Canada will contribute $76,000,000.00, a portion of which will be applied to the purchase of up to 46,444 hectares of land from private owners for those First Nations who do not have a sufficient amount of Crown land in their vicinity for transfer to a First Nations reserve. All the land obtained from private owners will be purchased on a willing seller/willing buyer basis.

The three parties to the Framework Agreement used the population figures as of October 14, 1993 (the date of signing of the protocol for agreement negotiations), to determine land entitlement. The Commission was advised that land amounts, financial compensation, principles for land selection, and dispute resolution mechanisms are provided for in the three-party Framework Agreement, and that they were the result of negotiations between the TLE Committee representing the 19 First Nations and Canada, and Manitoba.

From discussions with the parties, it appears that the TLE process is now working reasonably well. Further information on the Treaty Land Entitlement process can be found at the TLE Inc. website, http://www.tle.mb.ca.

The Manitoba Metis Federation raised with the AJIC the issue that lands being selected by First Nations under the TLE process may be subject to Aboriginal rights claims from Métis people. As noted in the previous chapter, the AJIC has recommended that the Manitoba government enter into discussions with the MMF to address matters within provincial jurisdiction of Manitoba that have been the subject of AJI and the RCAP recommendations.