Progress Report – Specific Claims 2008–2009

In June 2007, the Government of Canada announced an action plan to speed up the resolution of specific claims in order to provide justice to First Nation claimants and certainty for all Canadians.  Canada's Specific Claims Action Plan is delivering concrete results. 

What is Being Measured?

This report tracks overall progress in resolving specific claims in Canada between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009.

To learn more about the process for resolving these claims, read about the key terms used in this report and review the Frequently Asked Questions About Specific Claims.

Progress: At a Glance

Between April 1, 2008 and the end of March 2009, Canada addressed a record total of 118 specific claims across the country. This number includes:

• 19 claims settled through negotiation (See the settlement report for more details)
• another 24 claims that were not accepted for negotiation on the basis that the claims did not give rise to any lawful obligations
• 75 claims that were addressed by means of file closure.

In addition, 31 claims were accepted for negotiation during this time.

Quick Facts:

Before the launch of Canada's Specific Claims Action Plan, there was a logjam of claims stuck in the system. The inventory continued to grow because twice as many claims were submitted each year than were resolved. Review a graph showing the growth in the inventory from 1993 to 2007.

Since then, the situation has improved a great deal. The number of finalized claims is on the rise.  This past fiscal year (2008-2009) the number of claims in the federal inventory was reduced by a record 118. This more than doubles the results achieved in the previous fiscal year (2007-2008) when 54 claims, also a record at the time, were addressed.

Review a graph outlining the results for the past fiscal year. Canada looks forward to building on this success in the future.

You Wanted to Know:

• How can I find out more about the claims that were settled this year?
• How many claims are still outstanding in Canada?

Resolving Specific Claims Results for
Fiscal Year 2008-2009

This graph shows how the overall federal inventory (shown in red) is decreasing and the number of finalized claims (shown in blue) is increasing. These results were tracked at key points throughout fiscal year 2008-2009.

Text description of this chart is available on a separate page.

Definitions

Specific claims
Specific claims deal with the past grievances of First Nations. These grievances relate to Canada's obligations under historic treaties or the way it managed First Nation funds or assets. (return to source paragraph)

Inventory
Claims within the federal inventory are claims that are still being processed by the government and have not yet been resolved. This includes both claims that are under assessment and claims in negotiations. (return to source paragraph)