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From the Toronto Star

First Nations relieved by Casino Rama 'windfall'

Cash will help struggling communities, but court victory 'has created a lot of hard feelings'

David Bruser,  Staff Reporter 2010/01/24

Now that the Chippewas of Mnjikaning have lost their latest bid to keep 35 per cent of the profits from Casino Rama, other First Nations eagerly await the "windfall" of cash they say will build roads, help educate youths and nurse struggling start-up companies.

Handed down in the Ontario Court of Appeal Friday, the latest ruling in this bitter dispute means 133 other First Nations now get a share of the contested amount.

Nipissing band councillor Perry McLeod-Shabogesic, said that while the exact dollar figure is not known, he expects his community's take to be in the millions.

"Each community has not forecast the amount into their budgets, so it's going to be like a windfall to invest. It's going to give us a needed boost, especially during these economic times."

The Mnjikaning Chippewa band claimed it had a deal with the Ontario government to receive 35 per cent of net revenues in exchange for hosting the casino on its land near Orillia. But opponents claimed the deal, which was agreed upon by the province's native communities and the former New Democrat government, was to last only five years.

Since opening nearly 14 years ago, the casino has boasted gross revenues of more than $5.2 billion. The Court of Appeal dismissed the band's "scorched-earth attack" on a Toronto trial judge's findings and conduct during the 2008 trial, and dealt the Mnjikaning Chippewas another courtroom loss.

Since litigation began in 2001, about one-third of the net revenues, which the band claims as its own, has been placed in a trust account, while the remaining two-thirds has been split among the province's 133 other First Nations.

The legal victory has not been without cost for the Union of Ontario Indians, which represents about 40 communities in Anishinabek Nation, said spokesman Maurice Switzer. It "has created a lot of hard feelings. It created a real rift among the First Nations in Ontario. (Mnjikaning First Nation) withdrew and has not been active in the activities of their own nation.

"Sometimes these animosities have bubbled up to the surface on the floor of conferences. It doesn't look good to the outside world when we're fighting amongst ourselves."

But, Switzer added, the money should now head to the union's other members and allow needy communities to buy computers for kids and build fire stations and recreation complexes. "This enables us to do more than just having the bare necessities," he said.

Mnjikaning Chief Sharon Stinson Henry was unavailable for comment Saturday but told the Star on Friday that she and band council members were "surprised" and "disappointed' at the ruling, and that while her community of 1,500 people has operated the successful casino, it has "not received a dime" since the litigation began in 2001.

Patrick Madahbee, grand council chief of the Union of Ontario Indians, said the "significant chunk of change" can help free up "backlogs" in housing and get more people into post-secondary education.

Some communities' "infrastructure needs are probably 20 years behind most municipalities," Madahbee said.

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From the National Post

Court rules against Mnjikaning First Nation in Rama profits dispute

January 22, 2010, Shannon Kari, National Post 

The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of the trial judge in a long-running legal dispute over the distribution of $1.2-billion in profits generated at Casino Rama since it opened nearly 14 years ago.

The appeal court ruled in favour of the Chiefs of Ontario, which represents most native bands in the province and against the Mnjikaning First Nation, which operates the casino.

Mnjikaning argued that it was entitled to a 35% share of profits in perpetuity from Casino Rama.

This was rejected in 2008 by Ontario Superior Court Justice Arthur Gans, who said the 35% share applied only from 1996 to 2001. After that period, the profits were to be distributed equally among all native bands in the province.

Mnjikaning appealed, but in a decision issued Friday, a three-judge panel of the Ontario Court of Appeal agreed with the findings of Judge Gans and said he made no legal errors.

Lawyers for Mnjikaning launched a “scorched earth” attack on the reasons of Judge Gans, which was “without merit,” the Court of Appeal concluded.

“MFN may not like the result, but it is surely able to understand why its action was dismissed, and the reasons provide ample clarity and transparency,” said the Court of Appeal in its 3-0 decision.