Innu and Newfoundland sign land claim agreement

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The Innu Nation and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador have signed off on a highly detailed agreement in principle that brings the province a giant step closer to developing Labrador's Lower Churchill hydroelectric megaproject.

Peter Penashue, the Innu Nation's deputy grand chief, confirms the "historic" 600-page deal was signed in St. John's on Tuesday.

The document gives legal weight to the 2008 New Dawn Agreement.

That basic agreement offered the Innu hunting rights within 34,000 square kilometres of land, plus $2 million annually in compensation for flooding caused by construction of the Churchill Falls dam 40 years ago.

However, the Innu will not give their consent for development of the Lower Churchill project until the federal government has signed off on the latest deal.

It's up to Ottawa to give the Innu legal title to a 13,000-square-kilometre parcel of land that is crucial to Lower Churchill going ahead.