KAREN BEST
Dunnville Chronicle
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 - 05:00
Local News - The Canadian government has told Six Nations negotiators that only outstanding mortgage payments will be offered on the 30,800-acres Moulton Township land claim.
"In relation to Block 5 (Moulton Township), we presented Canada's position that those lands were validly surrendered," said federal negotiator Ron Doering after a July 11 land resolution side table meeting. Representatives of Six Nations, Ontario and Canada participated in the discussions.
A mortgage on the township was not paid after Lord Selkirk sold it, said Doering. Referring to materials prepared by the Six Nations band council's land and resources office, he said the Moulton claim was not for land but was for outstanding payments on the mortgage.
In response, Confederacy Mohawk Chief Allen MacNaughton, a Six Nations negotiator, said they had discussed the expropriation of Six Nations land and would need to get more into it.
In an earlier interview, Six Nations land rights expert Phil Monture said Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant was not authorized to sell the land.
Cayuga Sub-Chief Leroy Hill said Canadian officials acknowledged a variance in the area of land flooded when the Dunnville dam was installed to direct Grand River water into the feeder canal for the first Welland Canal. Because three different numbers have been identified, Six Nations is requesting a survey.
In a May offer of $125 million, the federal government included an amount to cover the outstanding Moulton mortgage. Doering could provide no financial details. Twelve years ago, the Canadian government acknowledged it had breached its lawful obligations regarding this land transaction, he said. When Six Nations launched a 1995 lawsuit on 28 land claims, negotiations did not proceed. At the July 11 meeting, Canadian officials presented boxes of documents. "This is not easy. This is detailed stuff about what happened in the 1840s," said Doering.
After the meeting, MacNaughton and Hill were not satisfied with answers provided on the rationale behind the $125 million offer for the Moulton and Burtch Townships, the Dunnville dam flooding of land up to Cayuga and investment losses in the Grand River Navigation Company.
Federal negotiators did not provide a dollar figure breakdown and referred to various formulas and were used, said MacNaughton. "It seems to be a ballpark figure they came up with," he said.
Federal justice lawyers said they couldn't divulge specifics because of solicitor-client privilege, said MacNaughton.
Instead of speeding up resolution on four claims, the federal government has slowed things down, he said. Six Nations researchers will look at each of the land rights issues, break them down and come to an agreement on some formula, said MacNaughton. "In some areas (of discussions), we're close and in others we are football fields apart," said Hill.
Land resolution meetings will be suspended until Aug. 22 while exchanged documents are reviewed.
Meanwhile developers are being hoodwinked by Haldimand County's approval for development on disputed lands, said Seneca Sub-chief Butch Thomas. He wanted development to stop on land adjacent to the Six Nations reserve in order to allow his people to acquire it. It makes more sense than giving Six Nations parcels of land distant from the reserve, he said.
"We are on the verge of coming up with some other mechanics for how we'll address these claims to get us land back instead of the monetary sums they want to throw at us," said Thomas.
All parties had little to say about Haldimand County council's request for representation at the main negotiating table. Doering and Barb McDougall, Canada's special representative at the table, would not comment.
Thomas said land rights issues are between Six Nations and the Crown. Mayor Marie Trainer came up with that idea because of pressure from developers, he said.
"She didn't think of us when she had that closed door meeting with government officials, developers and the OPP," said Thomas.
"She closed that meeting and didn't invite one of us."