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Garden River First Nation agrees to compensation for western boundary error

Issue regarding First Nation territory’s western boundary dates back to 1850s
Court gavel

Garden River First Nation membership voted, on Sept. 7, in favour of an $18.5 million settlement regarding the territory’s western boundary.

“This is the best case scenario for us. We obviously can boost our economy and do a lot of capital investments with the money that’s going to be provided for us,” said Karen Bell, Garden River First Nation acting chief, speaking to SooToday.

Bell said GRFN’s legal team has informed her the funding will be provided to the community by late November or early December, the provincial government already having signed off on the agreement, with federal government sign off expected after the current federal election is over (after Oct. 21).

“The current Garden River leadership passed a motion and have promised our membership we will have several community engagements and consultations in regard to now that we have this money, what are we going to do with it,” Bell said.

“This is a financial settlement, not a land claim,” Bell emphasized.

Bell said over 80 per cent of GRFN members who voted on the compensation question approved of the financial settlement.

The settlement is a best case scenario, Bell explained, because if GRFN membership had not agreed to it, the territory would have suffered because the entire settlement agreement would have been taken off the table, to be renegotiated from square one.

The issue of GRFN’s western boundary issue dates back to the 1850s, when land surveyors made an error in marking out the boundary.

Eventually, scholars researching First Nations history discovered the error.

In 2003, GRFN sought legal counsel, the legal team discovering the community had been short changed of several hectares of land in the 19th century.

Fast forward to 2019.

“Through negotiations with our legal team in Toronto and the federal and provincial governments, a west boundary settlement agreement has been reached,” Bell said.

“Our elders and our community have always been told, and have told their children and grandchildren, that we should never give up the land.”

“It’s been a big issue in our First Nation whether we should seek financial compensation or get the land back, but we as leaders have informed our membership we’ll never get the land back because there are so many people residing or owning businesses on that land, and in order for us to even attempt to get it back, we would have to go to litigation with each individual property owner.”

“That would be a huge task which would take many years to do...so compensation is the best case scenario,” Bell said.

Bell said over 80 per cent of GRFN members who voted on the compensation question approved of the financial settlement.

“We are very, very happy that this got completed,” Bell said.


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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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