Algonquin Land Claim meeting - the deal is set in stone, but the details not so much

Jeff Green | Sep 13, 2013

In order to settle the Ontario Land Claim and establish title over 9 million acres of land that is inhabited by over 1 million people, the governments of Ontario and Canada will pay $300 million and transfer at least 117,000 acres of land to the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO).

That much will not change as the Algonquin Land Claim moves through the Draft Agreement in Principle (AIP) stage through to a final treaty in about five years' time.

At a public meeting at the Clar-Mill Hall in Plevna, which was presided over by North Frontenac Mayor Bud Clayton, many of the principals to the negotiations from the Ontario and Algonquin sides were present,  including Ontario Chief Negotiator Brian Crane, Algonquin Chief Negotiator Bob Potts, Algonquin Nation Representatives Doreen Davis (Shabot Obaadjiwan) and Randy Malcolm (Snimikobe/Ardoch). As well, Sydne Taggart from the Ontario Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs and Jim Hunton from the AOO, the lead advisers in regards the specific land parcels that are to be transferred upon completion of the agreement, were in attendance.

After speaking in general about the negotiations, Brian Crane, the long-time lead negotiator for the Government of Ontario, said that after conducting a series of meetings over the last 6 months, the final draft of the AIP will be completed and released to the public in a few weeks' time. By the end of 2013 or early in 2014, Crane expects that a ratification vote will have been held by the Algonquins.

For the purposes of this meeting, Brian Crane then turned his attention to the proposed Crotch Lake Park.

“The idea behind creating the Crotch Lake Park was to provide a level of certainty to the Algonquins that the lake and surrounding area will remain in its current state after the land claim is finalized, and will not be subject to development,” he said.

He said that no further mining claims will be allowed in the park, although those that are active will remain so until such time as they lapse. Similarly, forest management plans within the park boundaries that are now in place will continue.

“After those plans have been executed, that will probably be the end of forestry extraction in the park,” Crane said.

Hunting, trapping, and traditional recreational uses of the park will continue, and it is expected that the Township of North Frontenac will continue to manage the use of the park for canoeing and camping as part of the North Frontenac Parklands system.

He also said that there has been a change for one of the issues that was brought to the fore by North Frontenac residents who live in the vicinity of the lake, the disposition of three islands at the south end of the lake.

In the draft AIP, ownership of the islands was slated to be transferred to the Algonquins. “There has been an adjustment  with respect to the islands,” Brian Crane said. “The parcels have now been removed as Algonquin land selections and replaced with another selection at the north end of the lake, the so-called Big Island. The islands will however, be protected as part of the park. A further land selection at the south end of Crotch Lake is under review.”

Bob Potts, the chief negotiator for the Algonquins, said the adjustments that were made in the Crotch Lake area are examples of the co-operative nature of this particular set of negotiations.

“People may not realize this, but it is unprecedented in the history of land claims in Canada to roll out an AIP for the public to see. What has always happened is they negotiated an AIP and signed; then they went for input. We have been very happy with the meaningful and constructive input we have received,” Potts said.

But for those who would like to see the land claim scuttled entirely, he had another message. “If you are telling us how to do this better, we will look at whatever you propose. If what you are saying is not to proceed - not to finish this piece of unfinished business in this country - we can't listen to that. We will not, I repeat, we will not accept negative proposals,” he said.

Representatives from both the Brule Lake and Shawnegog Lake Associations had questions about specific land selections that are of concern to their members. While they were encouraged to wait until after the meeting to talk in detail with Jim Hunton and Sydne Taggart, Hunton did answer a question during the public session, which revealed how far along the Algonquin thinking about the use of the land after the transfers has proceeded.

One of the parcels that was brought forward for discussion by the Shawnegog Lake Association was #227, a 250-acre piece that has frontage on both Shawenegog and Sand Lakes. When asked what the Algonquins' intentions for the parcel are, Hunton said, “We looked at that piece because there was some Algonquin history tied in with it. We have looked at  a small subdivision on that property as well as recreational use. If we can't do a subdivision we will still keep the land for recreational purposes.”

Hunton said that the Algonquins are contemplating commercial or residential development on about 4% of the land that is slated for transfer, but that none of that development will be able to happen unless the zoning and planning requirements of the local municipality - in this case North Frontenac and Frontenac County - can be satisfied.

Sydne Taggart said that seven criteria were used to identify potential land parcels for selection, including the existing legal framework, roads, wetlands, woodlands, preliminary intentions compared with private land designation in the vicinity - particularly with lands slated for potential development, lake capacity to the extent that lake capacity has been assessed, and species at risk and other protection values.

“We have evaluated literally thousands of proposed parcels,” she said.

In the case of  a parcel on Brule Lake, consultations with the Brule Lake Association has led to a change in projected use. “We are no longer looking at cottage lot development on that parcel,” said Jim Hunton in response to a question from Alan Rose of the Brule Lake Association.

What may change however, are some of the individual land parcels that will be transferred, the boundaries of those lands, and other details.

While there will be a lot of work left for the parties to the agreement to do at the negotiating table between the formal acceptance of the AIP and the final treaty, a process that will take five years or more, the Algonquins will also have significant amount of internal work to do, including establishing a governance and financial management structure to deal with money and land that will be collectively held.

Nonetheless the mood at the Clar-Mill meeting last week was quite up-beat, and even some of the harsher local critics of the AIP appreciated the amount of detail that was presented by both the Ontario and Algonquin negotiating teams.