The treaty was the mechanism by which both the French and the British Crown in the early days of contact committed themselves to relationships of peaceful coexistence and non- interference with the Aboriginal nations then in sole occupation of the land. [...] We will also see how the policies of the government of Canada, over time, ignored and marginalized the treaties, despite the continued insistence of treaty nations that the treaties are the key to all aspects of the relationship.* Finally, we will examine the central role of the treaties and treaty processes in fashioning a just and honourable future for Aboriginal peoples within Canada and an equ [...] The Crown has traditionally contended that treaty nations, by the act of treaty making, implicitly or explicitly accepted the extinguishment of residual Aboriginal rights and acknowledged the sovereignty and ultimate authority of the Crown, in exchange for the specific rights and benefits recorded in the treaty documents. [...] The alternative to treaties was to take the treaty nations' territory by force, an option that was certainly used elsewhere in the Americas.13 The avoidance of war between Aboriginal nations and the French and British in what is now Canada was a direct consequence of the treaties and the relationships created by them. [...] The Commission believes, however, that a just and fair fulfilment of the treaties is fundamental to preserving Canada's honour in the eyes of the world and in the eyes of Canadians themselves.