Watershed in good shape

Confrontation over native rights worries politicians at Grand River valley forum

JEFF OUTHIT

Kitchener Record
Sept 15, 2007

The escalating confrontation over who regulates the Grand River valley threatens to overshadow good news about the watershed.

Yesterday, officials revealed the Grand is in better environmental shape than it has been in years.

"It's considerably better," said Paul Emerson, chief administrator of the Grand River Conservation Authority.

Water quality is improving. Tree-planting has restored some of the forest cover lost to development.

This good news, plus environmental challenges ahead, were highlighted in an annual watershed forum, held yesterday in Cambridge.

But the Grand is also at the heart of a fresh confrontation over native rights that's got politicians buzzing.

Traditional chiefs at Six Nations, citing environmental concerns, demanded this week that developers secure aboriginal permits before building in the watershed.

This includes projects in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge.

"It makes for a very difficult situation," said Waterloo Coun. Sean Strickland, who helps direct the watershed protection agency.

"The Six Nations does not have that legislative authority, under the laws of the province of Ontario," he said.

"I don't think that it's fair to say, nor would I support, any kind of messaging that would indicate that they have the right to grant approvals for development."

In Caledonia Thursday, a non-native builder was injured at a housing site and sent to hospital after a confrontation with Six Nations protesters.

Strickland said the federal government needs to move faster to resolve land claims.

Henry Lickers, a Six Nations biologist from eastern Ontario, told the watershed forum that natives and non-natives have learned to work together to improve the St. Lawrence River.

In an interview, he said traditional chiefs based near Brantford want to prevent the Grand River from being overwhelmed by growth.

"The traditional chiefs are only advancing the same type of thing you're hearing from your scientists and your people," Lickers said.

"Why would we do that? Sovereignty is one issue. But the big issue is the environmental issues."

Traditional chiefs claim jurisdiction over the Grand River because they were granted its lands in 1784. They question land sales that followed.

Lickers figures the solution lies, in part, in working more closely together, on watershed improvements.

"By working together on projects, we begin to understand each other's concepts of sovereignty, we begin to understand the concepts of jurisdictions," he said.

Strickland agrees non-natives can learn from aboriginals.

"We want to continue to keep our relations with Six Nations as amicable and collegial as possible," he said.

"The last thing we want to do in this kind of situation is elevate any kind of actions on either side. I think we need to work through this."

IDEAS

A forum yesterday highlighted four ways to improve the Grand River watershed:

Limit the expansion of the urban footprint, possibly by drawing a hard boundary around cities.

Design cities in different ways, to protect groundwater recharge areas and natural areas.

Construct buildings in different ways. For example, install grass roofs, improve energy efficiency and recycle water.

Protect the agricultural base and encourage farming that's environmentally friendly. For example, fence cattle to keep them from creeks, rotate crops, control the runoff of manure.