Natives demand royalties for land

In a Canadian precedent, a First Nations has created its own bureaucracy to collect royalties, approve plans and set environmental standards for any development on its traditional lands -- a swath of prime Southern Ontario real estate.

The four-month-old Haudenosaunee Development Institute set up by the Six Nations in Ontario has sent letters to municipalities and is also approaching developers privately to hammer out deals, with the implied alternative being the kind of economic disruption that has blocked highways, rail lines and housing developments in the province.

"This is a first in Canada for a [First Nation] to say we are going to take this matter into our own hands, because historical evidence would suggest the governments of Canada and Ontario are either unwilling or incapable of finding creative solutions," said Aaron Detlor, the administrator of the HDI, which was created by the Six Nations Confederacy Council.

But the province has said the HDI has no authority, municipalities up and down the Grand River are ignoring it and at least one home builder has likened its demands to a mob-style shakedown.

Yesterday, Premier Dalton McGuinty said no one should be paying development fees to the HDI.

"We don't recognize development fees being charged by anyone but municipalities. I understand there is a land claim here that predates Confederation, and I think everybody understands there is a fundamental issues of difference here between First Nations community and the federal government, but I think we also need to understand there is a way to resolve these things, there is a table there.

"My advice to anybody is not to pay those [development fees]."

The territory in question is the Haldimand Tract, stretching from Lake Erie to Grey County. It encompasses 10 kilometres on either bank of the Grand River and takes in large chunks of such cities as Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Brantford and the outskirts of Hamilton.

The Six Nations claim rightful ownership of the land, which it says was granted to forefather Joseph Brant in 1784, and never legally surrendered.

They are now gearing up to assert jurisdiction over the entire Haldimand Tract.

"What we're doing is not any different in terms of process to what municipalities do," said Mr. Detlor, a lawyer by training. "We have some different objectives in terms of the level of environmental protection that we're seeking, as well as ensuring that the land provides for the perpetual care and maintenance of the Haudenosaunee, as was originally intended."

Kim Fullerton, a lawyer who has handled many aboriginal land claims cases in Ontario, has never heard of an organization quite like it.

"It's radical. It's audacious," he said. "I think what you're really seeing is that First Nations are saying that they want to participate in the economic mainstream and they want a share in the benefit of what's being done on their land.... It's going to be very interesting to see how it finally gets resolved, whether the governments are going to make room for the First Nations to collect fees on their land."

But empowered solely by Haudenosaunee law, the HDI has gone to developers directly to negotiate leases and payments for use of the land claimed by the Six Nations.

A deal was successfully negotiated with a wind farm power generation plant near Shelburne, Mr. Detlor said. There have also been positive talks with commercial property developers in Brantford.

"We're encouraged that progressive developers and companies understand the needs of the Haudenosaunee and that our process for them is simply one of the costs of doing business," Mr. Detlor said.

But not all have been so receptive.

Mike Quattrociocchi, president of Mayberry Homes, said he was invited to a meeting with the HDI after work on an eight-unit townhouse complex in Brantford was halted by protesters.

He said he was told that for a 4% cut of his $1.2-million project, a $7,000 application fee and an agreement that he could lease the land back from the Six Nations for 999 years, his work site was "less likely" to be the target of protest.

"What I said to them, was, ‘If you guys were Italian, it would be called the Mafia,'" said Mr. Quattrociocchi, a former city councillor. "It's nothing more than extortion, pure and simple. It's ‘You pay up or we're going to stop you.'"

After his refusal, Mr. Quattrociocchi said construction was interrupted six times, he was pushed two months behind schedule and he probably lost more money than he would have paid.

"I'm not paying any fees for development I have a legal right to with my land titles," Mr. Quattrociocchi said. "I really, really resent being used as a pawn in this political game of extortion to get the government to take notice."

William Montour, elected Chief of the Six Nations of the Grand River Council, said he has some sympathy for developers.

"I see them as the meat in the sandwich," he said. "But in a lot of cases you have to use every available tool that you can to get your issues across. We've been waiting since 1975 to finish the business that was started back in 1784 with these Grand River lands."

Although the HDI is the brainchild of the Confederacy Council -- the Six Nations' traditional hereditary government -- Mr. Montour said as elected leader, he supports the aims of the institute.

"We can't wait any more," he said. "Our population is young and it's growing... We're a population that has to be looking to the future as to how we're going to provide for our future."

The province, mayors, town councillors and municipal administrators are watching nervously.

Michael Wood, the chief administrative officer of the Township of Centre Wellington, said his entire municipality, which includes the communities of Elora and Fergus, falls within the lands claimed by the Six Nations.

"We're not sure what that means to us in terms of any other kinds of development projects, road works or subdivision developments or anything we do," he said. "We still want to do the right thing for the Six Nations people.... We just want to develop the right approach."

Marie Trainer, the Mayor of Haldimand County, which includes the flashpoint town of Caledonia, said the HDI is creating more uncertainty among already skittish developers. But she advises against trying to buy peace.

"All we can do is hope that people are cautious," she said.