Court finds legal fees for Robinson Huron Treaty annuities case should be reduced by $487M

A judge has ruled legal fees in the Robinson-Huron Treaty annuities case should be substantially reduced.

Two of the 21 First Nations that benefited from the settlement launched a court challenge of the amount paid to the lawyers who achieved the final deal.

The chiefs of Garden River First Nation and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek argued that $510 million out of the $10 billion settlement was too much.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has sided with the First Nations, and ordered that the legal fees be dropped to $23 million, which is $487 million less than the original bill.

The annuities case itself involved the retroactive amount owed to the 21 Robinson-Huron Treaty First Nations for access to natural resources in the treaty territory., covering about 92,000 square kilometres to th