Beattie v. Canada

Beattie v. Canada

Assignments of treaty annuity arrears to third parties are invalid absent Crown consent because s.90 of the Indian Act deems treaty-derived personal property as situated on reserve and restricts transfer without ministerial consent, and any assignment under the FAA is subject to original conditions and restrictions (s.68(4)); treaties are not contracts for the limited purposes of s.68(1) of the FAA; treaty annuity arrears do not attract interest as "Indian moneys" under s.61 and historically were paid without interest (no interest payable prior to Feb 1, 1992).

Citation
2005 FC 715
Parties
Plaintiff (appellant): Bruce Allan Beattie; Defendant (respondent): Her Majesty the Queen
Court
Federal Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
18 May 2005
Procedural Posture
Appeal From Federal Court Prothonotary Decision / Reasons for Order (appeal Disposition)
Outcome
Appeal dismissed with costs; prothonotary's judgments upheld: assignments void and no interest payable on annuity arrears (subject to determination of a reserved constitutional question and statutory limits on prejudgment interest).
Legal Topics
Assignment of Crown Debts, Treaty Annuities, Indian Act S.90, Financial Administration Act S.67 68, Interest on Arrears, Treaty Interpretation
Source Language
English
Aboriginal Law Statutory Interpretation Administrative Law Constitutional Law Financial Administration Assignment of Crown Debts Treaty Annuities Indian Act S.90 +3 more

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Parties

Bruce Allan Beattie

Plaintiff (appellant)

Her Majesty the Queen

Defendant (respondent)

Procedural Posture

Appeal From Federal Court Prothonotary Decision / Reasons for Order (appeal Disposition)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether assignments of treaty annuity arrears to a third party are effective despite the Financial Administration Act
  2. 2 Whether treaties fall within the meaning of "contract" for s.68 of the FAA
  3. 3 Whether section 90 of the Indian Act prohibits assignment of treaty annuities

Ratio Decidendi

Assignments of treaty annuity arrears to third parties are invalid absent Crown consent because s.90 of the Indian Act deems treaty-derived personal property as situated on reserve and restricts transfer without ministerial consent, and any assignment under the FAA is subject to original conditions and restrictions (s.68(4)); treaties are not contracts for the limited purposes of s.68(1) of the FAA; treaty annuity arrears do not attract interest as "Indian moneys" under s.61 and historically were paid without interest (no interest payable prior to Feb 1, 1992).

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed with costs; prothonotary's judgments upheld: assignments void and no interest payable on annuity arrears (subject to determination of a reserved constitutional question and statutory limits on prejudgment interest).

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed with costs to the Defendant
  • Prothonotary Lafrenière's judgments upholding invalidity of assignments affirmed