Alberta First Nation sues Ottawa over $5 treaty annuity, argues amount stuck in 1899

By Jack Farrell A northern Alberta First Nation is suing the federal government to increase its annual treaty annuity payments. Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam says the $5 his members receive every year is an amount that’s stuck in 1899, when Treaty 8 was signed. The payments date back to the signing of treaties across the country more than a century ago and were meant to provide assistance to First Nations members. Depending on the treaty, annuity payments made to First Nations members across Canada total either $4 or $5, and have never increased. In a news release Wednesday…