The Plaintiff Nations are located across northern Ontario. The land they call home is possibly the largest intact boreal forest remaining in the world and the largest wetland in North America. While the Plaintiff Nations are small in population, the combined territory of Treaty No. 9 is over 330,000 sq km – larger than the United Kingdom and Ireland combined.

Over millennia, decomposing plants in wetlands have created a huge carbon sink. Because of the slow rate of decay in the peatlands, the boggy Earth holds almost twice as much carbon as a forest does. This is why the Breathing Lands are estimated to hold over 35 billion tonnes of carbon.

The Breathing Lands are primarily located in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, which is home to a diverse range of wildlife, including polar bears, caribou, wolverines, lake sturgeon, lynx and other rare and endangered species. Tidal flats surrounding Hudson and James Bays as well as Akimiski Island and other small islands that lie within James Bay, providing refuge for dozens of migratory bird species — some endangered.

The Breathing Lands is an ecosystem combining high biodiversity and low human impact. Fisheries important to Indigenous Peoples in the area contain at least 33 fish species, including important cultural and ecological keystone species. 

Canada has 25% of the remaining peatland on the planet, which — if disturbed — could send 1.9 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That’s a carbon bomb that would push Canada past its emissions reductions targets with catastrophic climate impacts.

The precious peatlands of the Breathing Lands are threatened by industrial development, such as mining, logging, and road building. These activities threaten to damage and destroy the peatlands, release carbon stored into the atmosphere, and exacerbate warming and other climate change impacts.

For example, unrestricted mining development would convert the surrounding landscape from a significant carbon sink into an extreme source of carbon emissions. In addition to emissions from mining itself, tearing up globally significant wetlands would release irrecoverable amounts of methane, which is 25 times more destructive for our atmosphere than carbon dioxide. The effects of climate change on peatlands, wetlands, and boreal forests – which have already experienced a 2.6 degree increase in temperature since 1970 – pose significant risks from severe droughts to wildfire. The Ontario government has already issued over 26,000 mineral tenures to 15 companies and individuals, covering nearly 5,000 square kilometres of the Breathing Lands, largely without the consent of Treaty No. 9 Nations.

Scientific knowledge about the biodiversity of the Breathing Lands is scarce, but Indigenous knowledge keepers are tracking the abundance, distribution, and status of moose, polar bears, fish, and birds, noting declines due to rising temperatures, wildfires, and industrial encroachment.

Historical evidence shows that Treaty No. 9 Nations never agreed to cede or surrender the land during the treaty-making process. Instead, the commissioners who negotiated Treaty No. 9 told Indigenous signatories that their way of life – fishing, hunting, trapping, and harvesting – would continue, assuring them that the natural resources would be left in their care and control. In exchange, settlers would be allowed to share the land with Indigenous Peoples in Treaty No. 9 territory. 

The Treaty Commissioners' journal entries will be used as evidence for the Breathing Lands case. Additionally, oral history and testimony from Indigenous Peoples from the plaintiff Nations will be used to prove how the written terms of Treaty No. 9 do not represent what was negotiated and agreed to in the early 20th century. The evidence shows that the settler governments determined the written text of the Treaty before meeting with the Indigenous signatories to Treaty No. 9 and the written text does not reflect what was discussed or agreed to.

Expert reports and research by historians, biologists, ecologists, anthropologists, and lawyers will be needed in the Breathing Lands court case. The work of expert reports and evidence collection will also contribute to efforts in revitalizing Anishinaabe (Ojibway), Oji-Cree, Algonquin, and Cree cultures for future generations.

RAVEN's fundraising goal for the first year is $100,000. The Breathing Lands legal case is a massive undertaking, and RAVEN knows from past experience that Canada and Ontario will fight hard to shut it down. Governments may appeal every court decision, using familiar 'delay and outspend' tactics. Through our partnership with this powerful coalition of Plaintiff Nations, RAVEN has committed to fundraise for this legal action for as long as it takes for Nations to achieve justice.

All the funds raised for the Breathing Lands campaign go to Indigenous litigation. 85% of the funds raised go to Breathing Lands Nations to fund their legal challenge. RAVEN receives 15% of campaign funds raised to sustain our operations.

If a legal challenge is terminated, or RAVEN raises more money than needed for litigation expenses, we place the remaining funds into the Discretionary Litigation Fund. We use the money in that fund to support any of our campaigns that need extra funds for any reason (e.g. to respond to a Crown motion, or to commission additional expert reports).