Elliot Lake, Ont., to return small piece of land to neighbouring Serpent River First Nation
CBC
The city of Elliot Lake, Ont., is returning a small parcel of land to neighbouring Serpent River First Nation in what it calls "an act of reconciliation and economic development."
City council voted on Monday to return a 1.6-hectare parcel of municipal waterfront land to the nearby First Nation.
Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources transferred the parcel of land to the municipality in 2003.
"Armed with a firm commitment from council, city administration will now explore the best method to transfer ownership of the land to the First Nation," said a press release from the city's chief administrative officer, Daniel Gagnon.
Elliot Lake Mayor Dan Marchisella said the land transfer is a big step toward reconciliation and relationship building with Serpent River First Nation.
"If we can start making the proper steps towards a future and looking at seven generations to come, it's going to be a brighter future for our children, our grandchildren, and be good for the whole region, actually," Marchisella said.
Marchisella said the agreement should open up more opportunities for both communities to work together in the future.
Serpent River First Nation Chief Brent Bissaillion said that while the relationship is good now, the history between both communities has been fraught at times.
"Our relationship is, I would say, complicated in some ways because there's a lot of hurt and there's a lot of environmental devastation and a lot of health issues that come from that sulfuric acid plant," he said.
The region around Elliot Lake was home to 12 uranium mines that operated as recently as the early 1990s, according to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
Serpent River First Nation hosted a sulfuric acid plant to extract uranium from the mine tailings. Bissaillion said that the plant caused environmental damage and created tensions between both communities.
Bissaillion said he views the land donation as a gesture toward reconciliation.
"This is just a really nice gesture of reconciliation and action of, you know, a city returning a parcel of land back to a First Nation for us to use as we see fit," he said.
As for plans for the new parcel of land, Bissaillion said the "possibilities are a little bit endless right now."
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