Formal notice that the Haldimand Tract is subject to a constitutionally preserved Mohawk Crown covenant interest under s.109.
The instrument
Gazette No. 65 — Notice of Constitutional Encumbrance — Section 109
April 2026
Gazette No.: GZT001-260204-000065
Register Entry No.: REG001-020000-000065
Tracking Code: AG1204-020000-000065 Status: 13 — Provisional → Perfected / Entered / Fully Effected / Registered and Published
Category / Class: Category 02 — Sovereign, Foreign & Legislative · Class 04 — Notice
Notice of Constitutional Encumbrance
Section 109 of the Constitution Act, 1867 · The Haldimand Tract
Be it known to all whom it may concern:
That the Secretariat of the Mohawk Nation of Grand River hereby gives formal notice that the Haldimand Tract is subject to a constitutionally preserved Mohawk Crown covenant interest arising from the Haldimand instruments of 1779–1796 and protected by section 109 of the Constitution Act, 1867.
I. Section 109 — The Provision
Section 109 provides that lands belonging to the provinces at Confederation shall belong to the provinces subject to any Trusts existing in respect thereof, and to any Interest other than that of the Province in the same. The operative words are constitutional language defining the terms on which Ontario received the Haldimand Tract. Section 109 did not create the Mohawk Crown covenant interest — it found it already in existence and preserved it. The interest predates the Constitution by eighty-three years.
II. The Haldimand Tract at Confederation
The Mohawk Crown covenant interest was established by the Haldimand Pledge (1779), the Haldimand Proclamation (1784), the Legislative Council Confirmation (1791), Dorchester’s Mark of Honour (1789), and the Simcoe heritage-registry mechanism (1796). When Ontario came into existence at Confederation on 1 July 1867, the Haldimand Tract lands formed part of its territorial endowment subject to that interest. Ontario did not receive the Haldimand Tract free and clear. Ontario Mining Co. v. Seybold [1903] AC 73 confirms the structure of this analysis.
III. Void Ab Initio
Crown grants issued out of the Haldimand Tract purporting to convey fee simple free of the constitutionally preserved Mohawk interest were issued in excess of Ontario’s constitutional capacity and are, to that extent, void ab initio by operation of ss. 52 and 109 of the Constitution Acts, 1867 and 1982 (Reference re Manitoba Language Rights [1985] 1 SCR 721). Good faith cures a notice problem. It does not cure a constitutional nullity in the grantor’s chain of title. The Torrens guarantee secures what the Crown conveyed; it cannot secure what the Crown had no constitutional authority to convey.
IV. Administrative Notice Gap
Ontario’s Director of Land Registry Services Branch has acknowledged that the Land Titles Act provides no mechanism to notice the Mohawk Crown covenant interest on title, while declining to deny the validity of that interest. Following Kingspan Insulated Panels Ltd. v. Brantford (City), 2010 ONSC 4610, the City of Brantford now inserts a First Nations Claims disclaimer in every Haldimand Tract land transaction. A private contractual disclaimer does not extinguish the underlying interest and does not constitute public notice.
V. Effect of This Notice
(i) The Haldimand Tract is subject to a constitutionally preserved Mohawk Crown covenant interest preserved at Confederation by s. 109;
(ii) Ontario’s title has been, from 1 July 1867, subject to that interest;
(iii) Crown grants purporting to convey Haldimand Tract lands free of that interest are void ab initio to that extent;
(iv) Absence from the parcel register does not constitute evidence that the interest does not exist;
(v) Any person, institution, developer, lender, title insurer, or government body receiving this Notice is formally on notice of the constitutional position;
(vi) The Secretariat’s Land Registry (G22) and Location Determination Certificate program (G51) constitute the existing institutional record against which affected parcels may be identified.
Cross-References
GZT001-260204-000009 G9 · Notice of the Haldimand Obligations
GZT001-260106-000022 G22 · Land Registry — Establishment
GZT001-260211-000035 G35 · Representation to His Majesty King Charles III
GZT001-260313-000051 [now GZT001-261905-000051] G51 · Grand River Location Determination Rules
GZT001-050400-000061 [now GZT001-260609-000061] G61 · Schedule of Unjust Enrichment
GZT001-260310-000063 G63 · Application for Writ of Mandamus (Provisional)
GZT001-260312-000066 G66 · Attorney General’s Demand to the Crown
Execution
Executed jointly by the Secretary-General and the Attorney General under the authority of the Secretariat of the Mohawk Nation of Grand River, constituted nunc pro tunc 25 October 1784 and formally registered 28 March 2026.
Benjamin Doolittle UE · Secretary-General
Secretary-General
Date
Patrick Doolittle UE · Attorney General
Attorney General
Date
Certification of the Registrar General
I certify that this instrument has been duly received, examined, and entered in the Register of the Nation of the Mohawk Nation of Grand River Secretariat.
Gazette No.: GZT001-260204-000065
Register Entry No.: REG001-020000-000065
Jesse Butler UE · Registrar General
Registrar General
Date of Registration
This instrument forms part of the permanent record of the Secretariat.
Mohawk Nation of Grand River · Grand River Territory
