Ontario says ‘colonization’ costs mean it does not owe First Nations billions

Canadian province argues in court it is not responsible for compensating Indigenous people over broken treaty obligations

Ontario has claimed that it does not need to pay billions of dollars owed to First Nations over broken treaty obligations, arguing that it has already spent the sum on the historical costs of resource extraction and the infrastructure of colonization".

Canada's federal government and the province have spent the last week in a Sudbury court arguing neither is responsible for compensating Indigenous nations for more than 150 years of lost revenues.