The federal government in 2022 reached a financial settlement with the Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) for compensation to resolve a longstanding claim by the TFN over a land deal that dated back to 1957.
The claim involved the surrender and sale of approximately 95 acres of the Tsawwassen Indian Reserve at that year, a sale negotiated by government found to be improper as the First Nation did not receive the value it should have received.
The settlement agreement went back to the TFN for a membership vote and it was endorsed.
As part of the settlement, the TFN will receive $7.7 million in total compensation, recognizing Canada's failure to protect the First Nation from entering into an exploitative agreement.
The deal was part of an ongoing effort by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to settle what are called specific claims, which are legal claims by First Nations against Canada related to historic breaches of the Indian Act or breaches of fiduciary duty relating to reserve land or other assets of a First Nation.
