Feature Article July 4, 2003
LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb HomeUpdate on Land Claim ProcessA wave of optimism has struck the Algonquin Land Claims negotiations, leading all sides to speculate on the possibility of achieving a settlement that will be acceptable to all parties involved, but the negotiations have yet to tackle any of the specific issues at hand.
Last week in Pembroke, a meeting was held to update members of the Municipal Advisory Committee, (which includes representatives of municipalities within the land claim territory), and the Committee of External Advisors (which includes representatives of tourist operators, conservation authorities, and fishing and hunting groups) on the current status of the negotiations. The two committees were set up in 1996 to advise the government of Ontario, which is one of the negotiating parties.
There are three parties to the negotiations: the federal and provincial governments and the Algonquin Nation. According to Chief Doreen Davies of the Sharbot Lake Algonquins, the talks had been halted two years ago at the request of the Algonquin Nation, in order to sort out differences between off-reserve members and the Pikwaknagon First Nation, who reside on Golden Lake. Those differences have been resolved to the point where the Algonquins felt comfortable hiring Dr. Billy Diamond as their chief negotiator.
Dr. Diamond, a former Grand Chief of the Council of the Crees, took a lead role in the negotiations related to the James Bay and Northern Quebec agreement, the first modern land claim settlement signed in Canada. It is his presence in the Algonquin Land Claim Process that seems to have led to the current positive outlook.
Michael Johnston was one of the convenors of the Pembroke meeting. He has been a co-chair, along with Brian Crain (the chief Ontario negotiator for the Land Claims) of the Municipal Advisory Committee since 1996. In an interview with the News, he said last weeks meeting was extremely positive. There is keen interest on all sides to move this issue forward. While all parties at the meeting agreed not to disclose any of the specifics to the press, Johnston said the negotiations are still at an early stage and it will be a long time before the complicated details of a possible agreement are on the table.
There was a strong feeling within the meeting that all parties need to reach out to each other, at all levels. We need to create a feeling of trust, because this land claim will be extremely complicated to work out.
The area being covered in the Algonquin Land Claim covers most of eastern Ontario, from the St. Lawrence in the south to Algonquin Park in the north, west to the Bancroft area, and as far east as the Quebec border. The entire City of Ottawa, including the Parliament Buildings, is included as well.
Winton Roberts was invited to the Pembroke Meeting as a representative of the Ompah Conservation Association. Roberts had concerns before the meeting that a land claim could be detrimental to the interests of non-aboriginal groups, specifically conservation groups. Afterwards, he said I came away very impressed with the people who are doing this. I was impressed by their sincerity and I came away thinking that something can happen.
Mayor Stan Johnston of North Frontenac, who has represented Frontenac County on the Municipal Advisory Committee since the land claim negotiations started 10 years ago, also came away from the meeting with the sense that progress is now possible.
The negotiations are set to continue under the terms of a working plan that all three parties have agreed to, for the next nine months at least, and according to Chief Doreen Davies, they will continue on after that, provided progress is still being made.
With virtually all outstanding issues still on the table, the most optimistic estimate is that an agreement wont be reached for at least 6 years.
