Land claim plan can be inspected
First printed in the Temiskaming Speaker on Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Public questions welcome
First printed in the Temiskaming Speaker on Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Land, cash proposed for final settlement
First printed in the Temiskaming Speaker on Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Ask a reporter about the Temagami Land Claim
1. When did this land claim begin?
The most recent round of discussions began in 2000, when the government of Ontario, the Temagami First Nation and the Teme-Augama Anishnabai signed a framework agreement that laid the groundwork to restart negotiations.
But efforts to resolve the land question in the Temagami area have a long history, dating back to the nineteenth century.
Its documented that, in 1877, a Temagami chief approached federal representatives asking for a reserve and treaty to protect his peoples traditional lands from lumbering interests.
Although a reserve of about 260 square kilometres (100 square miles) was surveyed around Austin Bay on Lake Temagami in 1884, the province never transferred the land.
It was not until 1971 that Bear Island was turned into a one-square-mile reserve.
In 1973, the Temagami Indians turned to the courts.
To assert their claim, they registered cautions, or clouds on title, to their traditional territory known as nDaki Menan, an Ojibway term meaning our land.
The cautions covered roughly 10,300 square kilometres (4,000 square miles) of Crown land in the Temagami area and extended over much of Temiskaming. The cautions in effect prevented any development, such as mining and Crown land sales, that required registration of title.
The next three decades saw on-again, off-again negotiations, various offers, road blockades, changes in leadership, and legal battles that eventually reached the Supreme Court of Canada.
In 1991, the Supreme Court ruled that the Temagami Indians had adhered to the Robinson-Huron treaty of 1850, and did not have aboriginal title to the land they claimed.
But it also found that the Crown had outstanding obligations to the Temagami aboriginal community, stemming from a failure to provide an adequate reserve and a failure to make annuity payments according to the treaty.
By then, the Ontario government and the Teme-Augama Anishnabai had already begun talks on an agreement.
A proposed agreement-in-principle would have turned over 300 square kilometres (115 square miles), more than $15 million, and a voice in land use decisions in a 1,300-square-kilometre (500-square-mile) region to the Temagami aboriginal community.
That tentative agreement, however, fell apart in 1993 when it was narrowly rejected by Temagami First Nation members.
In 1995, the newly elected Progressive Conservative government withdrew the agreement, and set aside 385 square kilometres (149 square miles) of land on the south and east sides of Lake Temagami for settlement purposes.
A new agreement is now being drafted, modelled in part on the 1993 proposal.
It would create a new reserve and provincial park on the Lake Temagami shoreline, and see the province pay $20 million in financial compensation to the Temagami aboriginal community.
2. Why has it taken so long to be settled?
A combination of factors from years of neglect to years in the court system to changing governments at all levels have played a role.
Documents show a reserve was first requested more than a century ago in 1877.
More recently, the use of land cautions to press for a settlement pushed the issue into the time-consuming court system.
Almost 20 years after the cautions were filed, the question of aboriginal title to Crown land in the Temagami area reached the Supreme Court of Canada in 1991.
Negotiations also proved to take time.
A tentative deal was reached in 1993 after three years of talks. It was accepted by Teme-Augama Anishnabai members but narrowly rejected by Temagami First Nation members.
The proposed agreement split the Temagami aboriginal community, and saw the rise of a third, smaller group, the traditionalist Ma-Kominising Anishnawbeg. It wasnt until the late 1990s that the councils of the Temagami First Nation and the Teme-Augama Anishnabai began to speak with a single voice.
But in the intervening years, the provincial government had changed.
In 1995, the newly elected Progressive Conservative government said the 1993 deal was no longer on the table. It instead set aside 385 square kilometres (149 square miles) for settlement purposes.
Meanwhile, a court order resulted in the lifting of the cautions in 1995. In the fall of 1996, the land that had been under caution with the exception of the set-aside area was reopened to mine staking.
Late in the 1990s, negotiators for both sides began discussing how they could restart talks.
This round has also proven time-consuming as negotiators worked through the details of a host of complex options, from the creation of a new provincial park to the establishment of a new reserve.
3. Who are the parties involved?
Two groups continue to be involved in negotiations on behalf of the Temagami aboriginal community.
The Temagami First Nation represents status Indians as defined under the Indian Act. The Teme-Augama Anishnabai takes in both status and non-status Indians with ties to the land claim area.
The Ontario government, as the holder of Crown land, is at the table. Temagamis mayor sits as a full member of the provincial negotiating team.
Advisory committees representing municipalities, forestry and mining, cottagers, tourist outfitters, hunters and anglers, and environmental groups also provide feedback to the province.
The federal government joined the talks early in 2001. Federal representatives have stressed that their participation is limited to the creation of new reserve land.
4. Why should the average Temiskaming resident care about this stuff?
The current agreement, if adopted, will mean changes in land use in the Lake Temagami area.
It would create a new mainland community for the Temagami aboriginal community on the north shore of Shiningwood Bay.
The community would be part of a new 330-square-kilometre (127-square-mile) reserve created along the the east side of Lake Temagami.
Over the years, a sticking point in land claim discussions has been the protection of the Lake Temagami shoreline.
The proposed agreement tries to ease those concerns by establishing a new waterway class provincial park around much of Lake Temagami. Excluded from the park would be existing private lands, mining properties, and areas with high mineral potential.
Part of the park would lie on new reserve lands. In total, about 80 per cent of the shoreline would fall within the park.
The creation of a park would restrict mining. No mining would be permitted on Ontarios land, and the mineral rights on park lands within the new reserve would be held by the federal government.
Access to land falling within the new reserve is currently being negotiated. Permits issued under the Indian Act, similar to the current Ministry of Natural Resources permits for Crown land use, are being negotiated to accommodate existing uses, such as access to specific trails, portages, campsites and canoe routes.
Some shoreline development could also occur on reserve lands at Austin Bay and Fridays Point. Any shoreline development within the reserve is to be compatible with municipal standards.
Looking beyond the reserve and park, a new committee would be formed to provide input and information on land use and resource management issues over the rest of the 10,360-square-kilometre claim area.
In the long term, the resolution of the claim holds the promise of new development opportunities in the region.
But approval of the agreement now being drafted is not a foregone conclusion the 1993 deal failed after it was rejected by Temagami First Nation members by only a two-vote margin.
A ratification process for the Temagami aboriginal community is now being drafted.
5. Once the land claim is finally settled, what does this mean for our area?
In the short term, the proposed agreement could spur development in the Temagami area.
It offers, for example, a $4 million mix of cash and land for development to the aboriginal community.
A new community would be established on Shiningwood Bay, satisfying historical calls by the Temagami aboriginal community for a mainland site.
A new waterway class provincial park taking in much of the Lake Temagami shoreline would also be created.
The changes would not happen overnight. The agreement, if adopted, would take ten years or more to implement.
But an agreement that is satisfactory to the Temagami aboriginal community would also bring an end to more than a century of struggle for recognition of its place in the region.
And by ending a climate of uncertainty, it could open the door to new economic opportunities.
Ontarios goal is to settle this historic grievance while promoting economic development that will benefit Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities in the Temagami region, said a provincial statement issued shortly after the signing of the framework agreement in 2000 that relaunched talks.
At that time, the two men who then headed the Temagami First Nation and Teme-Augama Anishnabai Raymond Katt and Doug McKenzie said a negotiated settlement would achieve justice for the Temagami aboriginal community:
As original keepers of the land, we recognize that the newcomers to this land have come to accept it as their home and intend to stay with us. Accepting this situation means that we must find a way to co-exist. The solution, we believe, lies in a negotiated settlement that recognizes the interests of all.
The municipality of Temagami has also identified partnerships with the First Nation community as a priority.
The municipalitys 2003 strategic plan saw the potential for collaboration in resource industries, land use planning, Crown land rehabilitation, and tourism.
Early last year, the municipality, Temagami First Nation and Teme-Augama Anishnabai signed a memorandum of understanding recognizing that future political, economic, social and cultural growth, development and prosperity are dependent upon a positive interdependent relationship with respect to one anothers government, laws and citizens.
Land claim plan can be inspected
by Darlene Wroe
TEMAGAMI The public is being invited to inspect the final environmental study report on the plan to transfer approximately 130 square miles in the Temagami area as part of the settlement of the Temagami land claim. Copies of the final report are available from Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources district planner Rick Calhoun in North Bay.
Negotiators for the Temagami First Nation, the Teme-Augama Anishnabai, the federal government and the provincial government have been working on hammering out a land claim settlement since 2002.
It is anticipated by the summer of 2005 ratification by the Temagami aboriginal community may take place, followed by the approval by the provincial and federal governments, with a signing ceremony on Bear Island in the summer of 2006. The Temagami aboriginal community has been seeking an agreement on a land base since the 1870s.
The time frame can be thrown out if an environmental assessment is required. The deadline for requests for environmental assessments will be November 12.
The final environmental study report is now available for review. It outlines the plan to transfer approximately 130 square miles in the Temagami area as part of the settlement of the Temagami land claim. This part of the process is just starting, says Temagami Mayor Wayne Adair.
But he adds that Im happy its gotten this far.
Mayor Adair says the document now available for public inspection is a very thick document. He said the process is just at the stage where the district manager has approved it. Temagami First Nation Chief Alex Paul said of the report it just solidifies where we are at in negotiations.
The lands to be transferred are located primarily on the east side of Lake Temagami within the municipality of Temagami. They were included in the 1997 Temagami Land Use Plan as Lands Set Aside from which settlement of the Temagami land claim will occur.
A block of Crown land will be transferred to the federal government for the establishment of a reserve under the Indian Act, and to support the future development of a community on the Lake Temagami mainland. A site on the north side of Shiningwood Bay has been identified as the preferred location for this community.
The transfer of ownership to the Temagami First Nation of seven development lots has also been outlined. Four of the sites will be on Lake Temagami, two will be on Rabbit Lake and one will be on Herridge Lake. Other islands to be used for development are Island 34 (Forestry Island), Islands 1011, and Island 574. Transfer to the Temiskaming First Nation of up to 14 parcels of Crown land, not totalling more than three square miles, as traditional family lands. These parcels would be selected from anywhere within the original land claim area.
The reserve land base is in the Guppy Lake area in Chambers Township.
Already discussed are potential environmental effects associated with the transfer of Crown land. The report outlines measures proposed to address or mitigate those effects.
The settlement of the Temagami land claim includes a plan to create a new waterway class provincial park on much of the mainland shore of Lake Temagami.
Public consultation has already taken place and that input is detailed in the report.
There is also detailed mapping.
Mayor Adair says that it will be into next winter when information for people is presented. The goal at that time will be to ensure that people understand what will be occurring. Later in 2005 there will be a vote on the plan, he said.
Following that it will take years and years of work to implement everything. We are talking ten years at least before the reserve is created. But he says of the small steps now being seen, at least it keeps moving. He added on a hopeful note, it looks promising for a successful conclusion.
Ottawa in talks with prospective permit holders
by Diane Johnston
TEMAGAMI Absent from earlier attempts to settle the Temagami land claim, the federal government is on board in the latest round of talks.
But its role in the Temagami negotiations is limited to the creation of the new reserve.
Temagami is unique in that a provincial park will lie in part on reserve lands, said Linda MacWilliams, the Department of Indian Affairs Ontario regional manager of land negotiations.
She said it will require the transfer of surface rights on reserve lands to the province.
But she added that the practice itself of transferring surface rights for such things as highways on reserve lands is common.
Over the past year, federal negotiators have met with users of Crown land who will be affected by the new reserve, including tourist outfitters, hunt camp operators and holders of mining claims and leases.
Theyll be eligible to apply for permits under Section 28 (2) of the Indian Act for continued existing access to or across Crown land that will be incorporated into the new reserve.
Ms. MacWilliams said the permits are similar to provincial land use permits.
She said a subcommittee will now sit down and draft a letter of offer to each of the prospective permit applicants outlining its specific fees, terms and conditions.
Were not expecting there to be much need to negotiate after the letters of offer go out. I think were pretty much on the same page, she said.
She anticipated that fees will be comparable to those currently charged by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. The fees in this case will be paid to the federal government, which in turn will return them to the aboriginal community.
But the formal permit application process cannot begin until the reserve is actually created.
I think were all waiting for the draft to be completed, she said.
After ratification, she anticipated a lot of activity on the federal side over the next five to six years as it worked with Ontario on implementation of the agreement.
Claim talks nearing draft agreement
by Diane Johnston
TEMAGAMI A legal draft of the detailed agreement to settle the longstanding Temagami land claim is expected to be ready this fall.
And by this time next year, negotiators hope the agreement will be presented to the Temagami aboriginal community for ratification.
The agreement, if ratified, would establish a 385-square-kilometre (127-square-mile) reserve, a new provincial park protecting much of the Lake Temagami shoreline, and a mix of land and cash for economic development.
Last week, negotiators were available on Bear Island and in Temagami to answer questions about the agreement that would resolve a claim dispute dating back to the late 1800s.
The new reserve will include a mainland community in a broad area running along Shiningwood Bay.
Because no location within the area has been identified, negotiators have agreed that a site plan for the entire area is required, said Ontario chief negotiator Doug Carr.
Mr. Carr said that plan will incorporate municipal zoning and meet Ontario standards.
We wont finish the transfer until a site plan is done, he said. He said negotiators are now trying to address the interests of some 20 cottage owners in the vicinity and on islands in the bay. If their concerns cant be worked out, Ontario is prepared in principle to buy the properties of at least the ones that are most affected, he said. But as discussions move into the drafting of a detailed, legal text outlining the agreement, a key issue has yet to be settled.
The final agreement must first be ratified by the aboriginal community and then Ontario and Canada. But defining who in the Temagami aboriginal community will be eligible to vote on the agreement is now the subject of talks between the Temagami First Nation (TFN) and the Teme-Augama Anishnabai (TAA). The TFN represents band members while the TAA is a broader group including both status and non-status Indians with ties to the land claim area. TAA negotiator Doug McKenzie said amendments to the Indian Act permit the creation of membership codes that enable individuals affiliated with a band to become members without gaining official Indian status. The ingredients (of a code) are there. Its a matter of making sure we have the right amount of this, the right amount of that, said Murray Pridham, communications coordinator with the Daki Menan negotiation office. He said membership would not be automatic, but subject to an application. An individual may be a Temagami descendant, but Mr. McKenzie asked whether that makes him or her a member of the community. It may give you the right to become a member of the community, he said. TFN Chief Alex Paul described the code as a very key element and one he hoped that the TFN and TAA will resolve over the next three months. Under the Indian Act, only the TFNs approval is needed to establish a membership code, Mr. McKenzie said. From Ontarios perspective, Mr. Carr said the province wants to be certain that anyone who is eligible to be involved under the Robinson-Huron treaty has the opportunity to vote. In Ontarios view, the risk comes not in including too many prospective voters, but too few, he said.
The proposed settlement would also include financial compensation of $20 million.
Mr. Carr said the money will also cover negotiation costs related to this latest round of talks as well as some outstanding court orders from previous negotiations.
He declined to offer an estimate of the remaining sum, but described it as still very respectable.
Mr. McKenzie said at least $1 million in legal fees have yet to be paid.
He said a negotiated sum has yet to be tallied, and then the final balance available as compensation will be known.
He considered it an important factor in the final deal to be presented to the people for ratification.
Public questions welcome
Land claim talks open doors for information
TEMAGAMI (Staff) As talks move into the finer details, the public has the opportunity to learn more about a proposal to settle the longstanding Temagami land claim.
People can put their questions to negotiators at drop-in sessions to be held next week in Temagami and on Bear Island.
Negotiators have agreed on the basic elements of a settlement, said Ontarios chief negotiator, Doug Carr, in a recent update.
Negotiators for the Temagami First Nation, Teme-Augama Anishnabai, Canada and Ontario are now working on a proposed settlement agreement.
We anticipate completing drafting this fall, he said in mid-June.
By next summer, negotiators propose that the Temagami aboriginal community will have ratified the agreement. Approval by Ontario and the federal government would then follow, with signing ceremony set for Bear Island for the summer of 2006.
A settlement would spell an end to more than three decades of debate, protests, and court action. But the quest of the Temagami aboriginal community for an agreement on a land base goes back to the 1870s.
The most recent round of talks began in 2002.
At this point, the basic components of a settlement include a 385-square-kilometre (127-square-mile) reserve, a new provincial park that protects much of the Lake Temagami shoreline, and a mix of land and cash for economic development.
(For details, see accompanying story, Land, cash proposed for final settlement. on page 2a.)
The drop-in sessions will be held July 15 and 16 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Temagami train station.
An earlier session will be held at the Recreation Centre on Bear Island July 14 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Land, cash proposed for final settlement
TEMAGAMI (Staff) A year and a half of talks under the latest round of discussions have resulted in a proposed agreement to settle the Temagami aboriginal land claim.
The basic components of the proposed agreement are outlined below:
The agreement as drafted would see the creation of a new 385-square-kilometre (127-square-mile) reserve.
It would include the establishment of a mainland shoreline community at Shiningwood Bay.
Negotiators say plans for the site would be developed in consultation with the province and municipality of Temagami before the land is transferred to the aboriginal community.
Shoreline development would also be permitted on reserve lands at Austin Bay and Fridays Point, on the eastern side of Lake Temagami. Negotiators said site plans would have to be compatible with municipal standards.
Access would continue to reserve lands under Section 28 land use permits, a provision under the Indian Act. Negotiators say the permits will enable the ongoing use of specific trails, portages, camp sites, and canoe routes on reserve lands.
In addition to the reserve lands, another 14 parcels of Crown land totalling up to eight square kilometres (three square miles) would also be identified for the use of traditional families.
The process of identifying and transferring traditional family lands could take up to five years.
Its currently proposed that the lands be transferred as private property to a corporation of the Temagami aboriginal community.
A key part of the agreement would be the creation of a new waterway class provincial park on both Crown and reserve lands to protect most of Lake Temagamis shoreline.
Areas with high mineral potential, existing private lands and mining lands representing about 21 per cent of the shoreline area have been exempted from the park.
Canada would also retain mineral rights on the portion of the park, about 38 per cent of the total, that will rest on aboriginal lands.
About 41 per cent of the parks land where mining would be prohibited would remain in Ontarios hands.
The existing park planning and management process would be used to create and monitor the new park.
Planning for the new entity could be rolled into a larger integrated process recently announced for all five wilderness and waterway parks touching on the Temagami land base.
Together, land and cash totalling $4 million have been set aside for economic development.
The land component would be held as private property and subject to municipal standards.
It includes four lots on Lake Temagami islands, two lots on Rabbit Lake, and one on Herridge Lake.
It also includes Forestry Island, islands 574 and 1011 in Lake Temagami, and a serviced lot in the Temagami municipal industrial park.
Two businesses would also be acquired on what negotiators describe as a willing buyer-willing seller basis.
Financial compensation to be paid to the Temagami aboriginal community tallies $20 million. A portion would be used to cover legal bills and negotiation costs.
Meanwhile, the province and the Temagami aboriginal community are to reach a memorandum of understanding on participation, consultation and coordination of land use and resource management issues across the entire 10,300-square-kilometre (4,000-square-mile) claim area.
Negotiators say the agreement would be put in place over a period of 10 years or more.
An implementation committee would be appointed by the Temagami aboriginal community, province and federal government. The municipality of Temagami would be invited to sit on the committee as an observer.
The committees mandate is to ensure that the new reserve is created, that financial and land compensation are transferred, and that other interests affected by the expansion of the reserve are addressed.
It would also be involved in other developments associated with the agreement, including the creation of the park and the reserve.
Before the agreement is implemented, it would first be ratified by the Temagami aboriginal community, and then by the province and federal government.
Negotiators anticipate that the final text of the proposed agreement will be ready by January 2005, with ratification to follow over the next two years.
The ratification process has not yet been spelled out.
Disputes over implementation of the agreement would first go to the implementation committee. Court action would be a last resort, negotiators say.