'Why has it taken 134 years?': First Nations in Manitoba, Ontario move closer to flood compensation
CBC
More than a decade after they began, negotiations on flood claim settlements between several First Nations in southeastern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario and the federal and provincial governments appear to be drawing to a close.
But some are wondering what those settlements will mean for the First Nations affected — and why it's taken so long to address flooding caused by dams that were built over a century ago.
"Why has it taken 134 years?" asks Chief John Thunder of Buffalo Point First Nation in southeastern Manitoba, one of the reserves affected by the floods.
"The documentation and proof is saturated from Lake of the Woods all the way to Ottawa," he wrote in an email to CBC News.
Negotiations for the claim settlements began in 2009 between the governments of Canada and Ontario and 13 Treaty 3 First Nations near Lake of the Woods, Shoal Lake and the Winnipeg River.
One claim has already been settled (with Rainy River First Nations) and eight more are nearing their final stages, according to the province of Ontario.
The First Nation communities say the Rollerway dam, built in 1887, and the Norman dam, built in 1895 near Kenora, flooded their reserve lands without their consent or compensation.
According to the province of Ontario, the First Nations brought the flooding to the attention of the government of Canada as early as 1887, but no compensation was paid for the damage at that time, and no agreements were put in place to pursue ongoing flooding of the reserve lands.
A provincial website that gives an overview of the Lake of the Woods flooding claims says settlements will include financial compensation for past losses and damages due to flooding of reserve lands as well as an arrangement to address their continued flooding.
"The Ontario Ministry of Indigenous Affairs is looking forward to a successful conclusion to these negotiations," Flavia Mussio, a ministry spokesperson, wrote in an email to CBC News.
"Through tripartite negotiations, consultation with Indigenous communities and public information activities, we believe we can achieve enduring settlements that will be acceptable to all parties."
For Lara Stovern, a former councillor with one of the affected First Nations, the issue is about more than money.
"This is something very personal because this is land that we are attached to. This is where our ancestors lie, and this is where our future generations are going to live," said Stovern, who was a band councillor with Northwest Angle 33 First Nation from 2016 to 2020.
"It's about who we are as people."
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