Onion Lake Cree Nation is calling for an immediate repeal of amendments to the Trespass to Property Act. (Onion Lake Cree Nation))

By battlefordsNOW and meadowlakeNOW Staff

Protesting legislation

Onion Lake Cree Nation calls for repeal of trespass amendments

Feb 17, 2022 | 3:32 PM

Onion Lake Cree Nation (OLCN) is calling on the Government of Saskatchewan to immediately repeal recent amendments to the Trespass to Property Act.

The legislation in question came into force on Jan. 1, with the key change being the onus of responsibility now on individuals seeking to access property, instead of the landowners. At that time, Justice Minister and Attorney General Gordon Wyant said the government had worked hard to balance landowners’ rights with recreational land users.

In a media release on Wednesday, OLCN Chief Henry Lewis stated that the amendments are a direct attack to Indigenous people’s Treaty right to livelihood by the province. The release implies that the provincial government is re-writing the law in order to get around recognition of treaty rights being exercised throughout the province on all lands that are not put to a visible and incompatible use. It also cited a commonality between Saskatchewan Bill 40 and the Government of Alberta’s Bill 1.

“We remind the Saskatchewan government that Treaty 6 is an international Treaty that guaranteed we would continue to practice our way of life forever without interference,” Lewis said.

OLCN representatives had previously attended the Legislative Assembly on Dec. 7 to express disapproval of the legislation. Lewis said that the new law would result in band members being fined up to $25,000 or incarcerated up to six months for carrying out activities guaranteed under the Treaty if it’s enforced. The legislation also comes with a maximum $200,000 penalty for corporations complicit in a trespassing offence.

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“Our peoples understand what their treaty rights are and they will continue to carry out activities essential to their livelihood, guaranteed by the Crown in our Treaty,” he said.

OLCN ended the release stating the Nation stands with all Treaty First Nations in defence of Treaty rights.

Provincial response

battlefordsNOW reached out to the Government of Saskatchewan for a reaction to the statement from Chief Lewis and received a response from the communications staff. It stated that the “recent trespass related amendments were never intended to affect treaty hunting and fishing rights and, indeed, by law cannot affect those rights.”

“The Legislation Act in Saskatchewan already states: No enactment abrogates or derogates from the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada that are recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.”

The statement went on to cite Part II of Section 35 of the Constitution Act. It also said First Nations hunting and fishing rights are constitutional rights that are set out in the Treaties and are protected by the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement of 1930.

Finally, it stated “whether First Nations people have a right of access to any particular lands will continue to be governed by the Treaties, the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement, and the court decisions that have interpreted those rights.”

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