LITTLE CURRENT-Following meetings with Aboriginal Affairs Minister Chris Bentley in Toronto last week, Island municipal leaders are now expecting provincial representatives to attend a special meeting of the Manitoulin Municipal Association (MMA) to address concerns regarding the implementation of the 1990 Manitoulin Land Claim Settlement Agreement.
Jim Stringer, Northeast Town mayor and chair of the MMA, indicated this meeting will be held tonight (Wednesday) in Little Current, with the Ontario lands negotiator as well as a federal counterpart scheduled to be on hand. "We may also have someone from (the office of Minister Bentley) there, and will probably invite (MPP) Mike Brown as well," he said.
Apart from seeking clarity on how the final settlement between Ontario and six local First Nations might impact municipalities, Mr. Stringer said he hopes the municipal reps will agree to express support for the treaty implementation process, as well as recommit to the principles of the Friendship Accord inked in 1991 between the MMA and the United Chiefs and Councils of Manitoulin (UCCM).
A pair of motions has been drafted to that effect and will be put forward at the meeting for consideration by members of the MMA. The first motion states that, since the 1990 treatment was signed by both the province and the First Nations, and "there is public confusion regarding the position of the MMA," the association "expresses its support for the process" of implementing the agreement, and "acknowledges the efforts of the parties to consult us."
The second motion cites the inking of the Friendship Accord almost 20 years ago, through which municipal leaders and First Nation chiefs on Manitoulin "enunciated their mutual respect and support." Given that "the principles contained in that accord remain of great importance to the parties," the motion calls upon the MMA to "reaffirm its support of the Friendship Accord" and to communicate that recommitment "to our First Nations neighbours."
A similar, but less official, meeting to discuss the treaty implementation was originally slated to occur last Wednesday in Mindemoya-at the urging of several municipal leaders, and with MP Carol Hughes brokering the attendance of government representatives-but it was called off.
Meanwhile, both the Northeast Town's deputy mayor Al MacNevin, and Assiginack Reeve Les Fields, had the opportunity to speak directly with Minister Bentley during the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference in Toronto last Tuesday. Each was seeking an assurance that municipal concerns would be considered as part of the treaty implementation process, and that municipalities will be reimbursed for any revenue that might be lost due to tax-exempt lands acquired by First Nations.
While the minister and his staff weren't able to provide immediate answers or guarantees, Reeve Fields felt "they did listen to us in Toronto. They understand that our concerns are serious and that, if not dealt with promptly, the problems will continue to escalate."
If nothing else, the audience with Minister Bentley seems to have precipitated this week's meeting. "There was a realization from the minister that it might be wise to have a meeting with all of the municipalities," said Mr. MacNevin.
The formal meeting of the municipal association, unlike the private get-togethers held earlier among reeves and mayors, will be a more transparent process, open to members of the public and the media.
Much of the discussion, however, will still occur in camera, since the treaty has not yet been ratified and there are items of legal concern that prohibit open dialogue.
But even those at the table for this exclusive chat might not learn all that much. "The hitch is that they (representatives of the province) aren't going to tell us too many details until the agreement is finalized," said Mr. MacNevin. "They say it's difficult to clarify these issues while they're still negotiating."
For Reeve Fields, it's been this very murkiness that has bred a lot of the anxiety and suspicion among municipal leaders. Although municipalities have been kept generally abreast of the process to finalize the 1990 treaty, they have not been privy to the fine points or given any concrete assurances that their concerns are unfounded.
"We need the negotiators to explain things to us," she said. "We don't want to overreact, but we need to get honest answers so we know what the future holds." While Reeve Fields hopes that the misgivings among municipalities about loss of taxes and control over road allowances are purely conjectural, she believes it's only fair that the province comes clean on these matters, so municipalities know what to expect in terms of their relationship with neighbouring First Nations.
"We have to live together, and want to live together," she said of that partnership. "We don't want to get into divisiveness, which is not healthy for Manitoulin. But we have to understand what the rights and responsibilities are regarding land ownership, and I'm very uncomfortable with not having the full implications of (the treaty negotiations) explained to us."
Whether that happens this week remains to be seen, but in the meantime the province is showing its hand to some extent, and inviting public input, regarding at least one aspect of the treaty implementation.
In a notice issued this week, with accompanying map, the Ontario government-"as represented by the Ministries of Aboriginal Affairs (MMA) and Natural Resources (MNR)"-is soliciting comments from the public on the "proposed transfer of Crown Land to United Chiefs and Councils of Manitoulin."
While it is often said that the Island is devoid of Crown land, this is not technically true, as there are pasturelands set aside under the former Agricultural Rehabilitation and Development Act (ARDA) and a few other tracts that were never developed and have remained effectively public.
Such properties, although neither numerous nor sprawling, were identified for transfer to First Nations two decades ago-in keeping with the terms of a treaty signed much earlier, in 1862, when Manitoulin was opened to non-Native settlement and the reserves that exist today were established.
"The 1990 agreement is a negotiated resolution to outstanding claims related to unsold surrendered lands on Manitoulin Island, Cockburn Island and Barrie Island," explains the notice from the province. "It provides that certain Crown lands on Manitoulin and Cockburn Islands will be transferred to Canada and added to existing reserves," while others will be transferred to the signatory First Nations "in fee simple," a real estate term meaning, essentially, legal ownership, but not (necessarily) reserve status.
The first type of transferable property, described as "Schedule A Lands" by the province, occurs in only a few instances. The Sheshegwaning First Nation stands to grow north of its existing boundary, with a chunk of land spanning Cape Robert and the existing Nimkee's Hiking Trail added to the reserve; a small parcel near Perch Lake, already used by the Sheguiandah First Nation as a ceremonial area, is identified for addition to its territory; and a swath of land along the north shore of Lake Mindemoya will be appended to the M'Chigeeng First Nation.
The other type of properties, termed Schedule B Lands, exist within the town plots of Meldrum Bay, Manitowaning, Little Current, South Baymouth, and Tolsmaville on Cockburn Island. These small, scattered lots "are to be granted as estates in fee simple to a trust, which will be created to acquire, hold and dispose of land for the benefit of the signatory First Nations," according to the notice from the province.
None of this is especially new, as the properties in question (if not always their exact descriptions) were identified back in 1990 for turning over to the First Nations, and no non-Native resident will be left homeless, or otherwise inconvenienced, as a result of the transaction, the province assures.
"No private property will be expropriated," reads the notice. "And Ontario, in consultation with the First Nations, municipalities, and potentially effected landowners, is working to ensure that concerns with respect to access to private property are addressed."
While some landowners who utilize road allowances to reach their properties have expressed fears of late that doing so could be trickier once the land settlement is formalized, the province promises that "public access over municipal and provincial roads will not be affected by the implementation of the 1990 agreement."
Road allowances, of both the shoreline and inland variety, represent a somewhat confusing and contentious part of the Island's overall land-use picture. Unopened allowances are effectively strips of Crown land, to which First Nations, not to mention the general public, have some claim.
One of the main reasons for the 1990 agreement between the province and the First Nations was to settle this very confusion.
Some questions remain in this regard. But it seems that First Nations, while adamant that shoreline allowances remain in the public domain, are prepared to allow municipalities to exert control over the inland allowances that run through their jurisdictions in return for settlement of the outstanding claims regarding Crown land.
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