Ontario NDP government trying to remove land caution that prevents development near Teme-Augama Anishnabai

Page 7

The NDP government in Ontario is going to court to remove a 20-year-old land claim-related caution banning development in the Temagami region.

The governed will apply to the Ontario provincial district court in North Bay to remove a land caution against thousands of square kilometres of Crown land in and around the township of Temagami, said provincial negotiator Grant Wedge.

"It wasn't a sudden decision. It was a decision that has been before us for the last two years."

The Teme-Augama Anishnabai Band filed the land caution appeal in 1973, effectively preventing development such as logging and mining in the region.

The province has been trying for two years to work out a land claim deal that would remove the caution, Wedge said. But the band's assembly rejected the province's latest offer in a Nov. 14 vote.

"We had no further avenues. The government is then in a situation where...we have not had any success in the removal of the land caution or consent. And with the rejection of the agreement in principle, the government had to address how it would deal with it."

Ontario Native affairs minister Bud Wildman talked with Teme-Augama Anishnabai Chief Gary Potts about removing the land caution before the deal was signed, Wedge said.

But the chief said the caution would remain in place until a land claim agreement was ratified by the both the province and the band's assembly.

The province's latest deal included $15 million over 10 years, tittle to 297 square kilometres and shared stewardship of 1,295 square kilometres around Lake Temagami.

The band had originally laid claim in 1877 to 10,000 square kilometres around the lake, claiming the land was never surrendered in the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850.

The most recent round of talks began three years ago, shortly before the Supreme Court ruled the Natives' claim invalid.

A March, 1993 addendum to an earlier land claim negotiation agreement allotted more time to negotiate before the Aug. 18 deadline, Wedge said.

But the assembly voted only 49 per cent in favor of the province's offer "primarily because no one had enough time to study it," said Potts.

"There were 19 sections and approximately 175 clauses and paragraphs in legal language. And we only had two weeks to five days to study it."

The Teme-Augama claim is the only one of hundreds filed against the province that involves a land caution, Wedge said.

The province's attorney general's office is currently looking at a date in mid-January 1994 to serve their application to the courts.

The Teme-Augama Anishnabai will have 21 days from that day to prepare their case.

Potts said he will ask the court to adjourn the hearings for 117 days - one day for each of the 117 years the band has been seeking a treaty.

The assembly plans to use that additional time to allow its members to read the agreement thoroughly and decide if a new vote is necessary.

No immediate development plans lie in waiting should the court decide to remove the caution, Wedge said.

The province established a 17-member panel to discuss how comprehensive land-use planning and resource management can be responsibly carried out.

Five members of the panel are from the Teme-Augama Anishnabai Band.