MOHAWK+GRAND RIVER

Gazette No. 33 — Notice of Territorial Jurisdiction — Federal and Provincial

Be it known and placed on record: That all federal and provincial regulatory bodies are hereby notified that their regulatory reach within the Mohawk Acquired Territory is contested, and that no regulation purporting to apply within the corridor does so free of the Haldimand encumbrance established by the Proclamation of 1784 and preserved by section 109 of the Constitution Act, 1867.

I. Federal Jurisdiction

Federal regulatory authority within the corridor is acknowledged insofar as it does not conflict with the Haldimand covenant. Where federal regulation purports to apply without addressing the Haldimand interest, the Secretariat reserves its rights under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and under the bilateral covenant.

II. Provincial Jurisdiction

Provincial regulatory authority within the corridor — including the authority asserted by the Ontario Court of Justice in Matter No. BR26001881 — is contested on the ground that the Province received these lands at Confederation subject to the prior Haldimand interest. Ontario Mining Co. v. Seybold [1903] AC 73 (JCPC) establishes that Crown grants over land subject to a prior Indian interest are contingent upon the surrender of that interest. The Province’s regulatory authority is equally contingent.