KAREN BEST
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 - 05:00
Dunnville Chronicle
Local News - The Haudenosaunee Six Nations (HSN) will consider "setting aside" municipal development permits and licences issued without consultation with their traditional government.
This strategy will be considered one of the potential legal and peaceful steps toward protecting Six Nations rights until these matters are finally resolved, according to a letter issued last week by the Six Nations Land Rights Department to all mayors along the Grand River.
When municipalities fail to consult with Six Nations or acquire consent, permits for development are issued in error, wrote Trevor Bomberry on behalf of the department.
"I took it they want to shut us down," Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer said about an hour after receiving the couriered letter on Oct.4.
The Confederacy is putting all parties involved in development on notice, said Haudenosaunee Confederacy Cayuga Sub-Chief Leroy Hill. "It is unlawful for them to continue on while we have unresolved land rights issues," he stated. "People have to realize our issues have been downplayed for so long."
He said non-compliance can be handled in many ways but did not specify how. At almost every meeting with Canadian and provincial negotiators, Six Nations representatives have raised the issue of continued unlawful development.
Hill countered the perceptions of some people who think the Haudenosaunee leadership are "a bunch of radicals".
The traditional government was named last April as the Six Nations authority dealing with land rights.
To assist them, they have capable people with up to date knowledge of case law including consultant Aaron Detlor, he added.
Recently the official plans of Haldimand County, Brantford and Norfolk County were sent to the Confederacy for consultation. Hill felt this as an indication that the provincial government wanted to look at concerns and at what can be done about them. "They're realizing we just can't be brushed off," he added.
On Oct. 4, a copy of the letter addressed to Trainer was also couriered to The Chronicle office. The package contained a colour copy of the Haldimand Grant document, a map of the Haldimand Tract showing only five percent remaining in Six Nations ownership and a contact list for MPs and MPPs representing ridings along the river as well as Ontario aboriginal affairs minister David Ramsay and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada minister Chuck Strahl.
The letter invited Trainer and developers to meet with Six Nations negotiators and advised her to contact government officials to express Haldimand County's concerns about the letter's content.
Stating that the county will contact both ministers, Trainer was willing to attend any meetings with Six Nations that will further the peace process but was uncertain what they could accomplish together. First Nations land issues including life leases and return of land are all federal responsibilities, she noted. Even so, she is willing to go jointly with Six Nations to the provincial and federal governments.
At present, Haldimand County has complied with provincial statutes on planning issues and if a developer fulfils all requirements, the municipality is obligated by law to issue permits, Trainer said.
"At this time, all we have to do is notify," she added as a response to the Six Nations expectation for consultation.
This week the Ontario government said it has been actively engaged for over a year in discussions to advance areas of mutual interest regarding development in the Haldimand Tract.
"Ontario believes the land claims negotiating table is the appropriate place for Haudenosaunee Six Nations to bring their ideas and proposals on land use development," said Lars Eedy, spokesperson for the provincial aboriginal affairs ministry. "In the same way, we encourage municipalities to engage with aboriginal communities early in the planning process. The government of Ontario encourages the Haudenosaunee Six Nations to consult with municipalities and developers."
"Assertions of jurisdiction need to be dealt with at the negotiations table as they have everything to do with responsible resolution of land claims," concluded Eedy, who said grievances concerning the Haldimand Tract are principally a matter between the federal government and Haudenosaunee Six Nations.
Copies of the letter were also to be sent to parties involved in Haldimand Tract developments including developers, financial institutions, land registry offices, real estate agents and lawyers who focus on real estate transactions, indicated Hill.
One of the key Haudenosaunee negotiators, Hill said land rights are comparable to law for Six Nations and extend back more than 200 years. Land rights can include land agreements, unresolved mortgage payments, hunting and fishing rights and other issues, he explained. In 1784, Britain recognized his people's allegiance to the Crown by granting them 950,000 acres, six miles on both sides of the Grand River, to replace territory lost in the American War of Independence. By word of the grant, the land was theirs "to enjoy forever".
How their land holdings disintegrated over time was briefly set out in Bomberry's letter. As Canada failed to prove legal surrenders on hundreds of thousands of acres, a lot by lot investigation is underway to determine what happened. Expectations of restitution are set out in the letter.
For example, the Haudenosaunee expected 999 year leases on 302,907 acres including the Region of Waterloo and other districts north of that area to be honoured and 50,000 acres between Brant County and Cayuga be returned as promised by Britain in 1843.
The letter outlined investigation into misappropriation and embezzlement of funds over the past 170 years including use of Six Nations revenue for the Grand River Navigation Company, Welland Canal and Cayuga Bridge Company. Funds were also fraudulently invested in Upper Canada Bank stock, the Law Society of Upper Canada and McGill University and were used to pay public debts and build roads, the letter continued.
A recent offer of $125 million for several land rights including 30,800 acres in Moulton Township was described as falling short of "just compensation".
Haudenosaunee treaties with the Crown (now Canada and Ontario) are based on honour, truth, friendship and respect for different laws, which can be addressed through peaceful negotiations, stated Bomberry.
On behalf of the Confederacy, the land rights department pointed out in Trainer's letter that "unauthorized use and development within and by your municipality" put Haudenosaunee lands at risk.
Because Ontario and Canada failed to consult with the Haudenosaunee on county development, the governments are disregarding Supreme Court of Canada precedents requiring consultation with First Nations which have an interest or claim in the land in question, continued the letter.
In so doing, Ontario and Canada "have failed to protect investors, developers, your municipality and your residents" and are "giving your residents a false sense of security", stated the land rights department letter.
Trainer noted this was a strongly worded section filled with implications but added that nothing surprised her anymore. "(Six Nations) are taking stronger stands all the time," she stated. "No one has said 'stop' yet."
The Six Nations Land Rights Department letter is part of the information campaign launched by the Confederacy after developers Dave VanElslander and John Kragten refused to acknowledge Six Nations jurisdiction over their Stirling Woods construction site in Caledonia.
The word was a key component of an agreement between the developers and the Haudenosaunee Development Institute which is overseeing a new Six Nations development protocol. The agreement was devised to allow the project to move forward and included a promise to prevent disruptions on the site.
VanElslander was advised by lawyers to refrain from acknowledging jurisdiction. When he refused to do so, the agreement was broken and Six Nations promises that the property would not be subject to land claims or land rights were withdrawn.
"The Caledonia Citizens Alliance thinks it's absurd to expect builders and developers will allow this group to assert itself on land that hasn't been determined whether there is a valid claim or not," said alliance spokesperson Ken Hewitt.
The Six Nations development protocol outlines consultation, approvals, and fees required from parties interested in building in the Haldimand Tract. Confederacy chiefs said their process filled a void created by the failure of the Ontario and Canadian governments to establish a duty to consult protocol.
"The Alliance expects leadership from the province and the province to come to the defence of the land registry system and the developers," said Hewitt.
Attempts to contact Ontario negotiator Murray Coolican to obtain the province's position on the protocol was not successful by deadline