MOHAWK+GRAND RIVER

Gazette No. 65 — Notice of Constitutional Encumbrance

Be it known and placed on record: That the Mohawk Nation of Grand River Secretariat hereby gives formal notice to the Director of Titles, ServiceOntario; the Attorney General of Ontario; the Attorney General of Canada; and all other respondents named in the Application for Writ of Mandamus that every parcel within the Grand River corridor is encumbered by the Haldimand Proclamation of 25 October 1784 as an interest preserved at Confederation by s. 109 of the Constitution Act, 1867. I. Constitutional Basis The Haldimand Proclamation of 25 October 1784 set apart the lands 'six miles on each side of the Grand River from its mouth to its source' for the exclusive use and enjoyment of the Mohawk Nation and their posterity forever. This covenant was made by the Crown to the Mohawk Nation as consideration for military service and the sacrifice of the Mohawk homeland in the Mohawk Valley during the American Revolutionary War. At Confederation, the Province of Ontario received the Grand River corridor lands subject to the prior Haldimand Proclamation interest. Section 109 of the Constitution Act, 1867 preserves 'any interest other than that of the Province in the same' in all lands transferred to the provinces. Ontario Mining Co. v. Seybold [1903] AC 73 (JCPC) confirms that Crown grants over land subject to a prior Indian interest are contingent upon the surrender of that interest. No surrender of the Haldimand interest has ever occurred. II. The Administrative Gap On 1 April 2026, Director Dan Petoran of the Land Registry Services Branch, ServiceOntario, confirmed in writing that no mechanism exists in the Ontario land titles system to record or give effect to the Haldimand Crown covenant interest. This confirmation constitutes a ministerial admission of an unconstitutional administrative gap. The Application for Writ of Mandamus (Gazette No. 63) seeks a court order directing the Director to establish such a mechanism. III. Effect of This Notice This notice is served on all respondents named in the Application for Writ of Mandamus. All parties receiving this notice are placed on formal notice of the Haldimand encumbrance. No transaction within the Grand River corridor proceeds without constructive notice of this constitutional interest. The Doctrine of Dedication and the nemo dat quod non habet principle operate to limit the capacity of any party to convey, develop, tax, or regulate land within the corridor free of the Haldimand encumbrance. (i)

The Haldimand Proclamation is a valid and subsisting Crown covenant. (ii)

Section 109 of the Constitution Act, 1867 preserves the Haldimand interest at Confederation. (iii)

All Crown grants purporting to defeat that interest without prior surrender are void ab initio. (iv)

The Director of Titles is required by law to consider any request to record this interest. (v)

The absence of a mechanism to record this interest is an unconstitutional administrative gap.