First Nations sue governments, Manitoba Hydro over ‘unjust enrichment’

The Manitoba Law Courts building in Winnipeg on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

Two First Nations are taking Manitoba Hydro, the provincial and federal governments to court, claiming they have generated billions of dollars in profit on part of their ancestral land that was never ceded to the Crown.

According to a statement of claim filed in the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba, Dakota Tipi First Nation and Canupawakpa Dakota Nation are seeking an unspecified amount in “economic losses” from the defendants, who they say were “trespassing” on their land.

The court filing alleges the two First Nations were “deliberately and strategically” excluded from the numbered treaty-making process and were forced onto unsuitable reserve land.

The First Nations claim their ancestral territory includes large portions of southern Manitoba and parts of Saskatchewan and Ontario—and that they hold rights and title to the lands under Section 35 of the Constitution, which recognizes Aboriginal and treaty rights.

“The Dakota Nations’ rights, including title, have never been ceded and/or surrendered,” reads the statement of claim filed on Oct. 21.

The suit mentions a statement of recognition and apology from the federal government on July 15, 2024, apologizing for Canada’s failure to recognize the status and rights of the Dakota and Lakota people. However, the suit says Canada has still not made “meaningful progress” in recognizing their status.

“The Dakota Nations have suffered damages from loss of cultural activities, loss of way of life, loss of traditional economic activities derived from traditional uses of the land, and economic losses arising from loss of use of the land,” says the suit.

The filing alleges the defendants have derived “significant profit” from the land and have been “unjustly enriched,” claiming Manitoba Hydro’s revenue for power exports was approximately $3.9 billion between 2010 and 2019.

“The defendants’ activities constitute a trespass on the Dakota Nations’ Land and that any funds derived therefrom are held in trust for the benefit of the Dakota Nations such that they should share in the profits of these activities,” says the suit.

The filing also seeks an order requiring Manitoba Hydro to pay a “royalty or transit fee” from their use of the lands, as well as aggravated, exemplary and punitive damages.

Manitoba Hydro, the provincial government and the federal Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations all declined to comment on the matter.

None of the claims have been tested in court and no statements of defence have been filed yet.