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Garden River rebuffs snowmobile negotiations

The City of Sault Ste. Marie's bid to extend its snowmobile trails throuugh Garden River (Ketegaun Seebee) First Nation has been sharply rejected.
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The City of Sault Ste. Marie's bid to extend its snowmobile trails throuugh Garden River (Ketegaun Seebee) First Nation has been sharply rejected.

"To be frank we do not and will not conduct business or discuss any issue in this manner," says Chief Lyle Sayers in a letter to City solicitor Lori Bottos.

"Having the snowmobile trails through our territory would only be a modest benefit, if any," the chief said. "The primary benefactor for economic prosperity would be the City and the businesses within the City."

At a meeting earlier this month, City Council voted to seek ideas on how to negotiate an agreement that would be mutually beneficial to both the City and the Garden River band.

It was suggested that one aspect of such an agreement would be a mutual aid firefighting agreement under which respective fire departments would help the other during times of excessive demand.

However, chief administrative officer Joe Fratesi told Council that any such agreement would involve forgiving $80,000 owed to the City for almost a decade by Garden River First Nation under a previous firefighting arrangement that he says was unilaterally ended by the band when it established its own fire department.

Full text of Chief Sayers' response:

******************************** March 7, 2002

Dear Mr. Bottos:

RE: RESPONSE TO YOUR LETTER REGARDING SNOWMOBILE ACCESS

Thank you for your letter regarding the Cities inquiry concerning snowmobile access through our First Nation lands and Treaty Territory.

Whatever discussions we engage in with the City of Sault Ste. Marie should not be contingent or conditional in any endeavours currently underway or that may be proposed between the City and Garden River. That is, we interpret the letter from you that if movement is going to be made with access for the snowmobilers it is conditional with other factors. Respectfully to be frank we do not and will not conduct business or discuss any issue in this manner.

The second point that we wish to make is that it is not so much what Garden River wants but rather what is the City seeking on behalf of the Sault Trailblazers. We are not making propositions to the City. In our previous letter we asked the City to respond to the assertions regarding the $80,000 owed to the city and I am cognizant that a response is forthcoming.

In terms of the economic benefits that you purport, having the snowmobile trails through our territory would only be a modest benefit, if any. The primary benefactor for economic prosperity would be the city and the businesses within the city should an agreement be achieved. Therefore unfortunately we will not be able to respond by your deadline of March 18, 2002.

I trust that this letter will assist you in preparing your report back to City Council.

Should you have any further questions or require clarification please do not hesitate to contact me.

Chief Lyle Sayers Ketegaun Seebee Garden River First Nation

c.c. Mayor John Rowswell, Joe Fratesi (chief administrative officer), Bruce Strapp (president and CEO, Economic Development Corporation), Lynn McCoy (fire chief), Mel Brechin (commissioner of engineering and planning).

******************************** Bill actually $96,000, Fratesi says

This week, Fratesi re-asserted his claim that Garden River owes the city for three years of fire protection. In fact, the bill is actually $96,000 plus a decade's worth of interest, Fratesi says.

A report prepared this month by Sault fire chief Lynn McCoy outlines his perspective of the history of the Garden River protection.

McCoy said that the City provided fire protection for many years to the Garden River and Batchewana First Nations, as well as Prince Township, under separate agreements.

In 1989, the City decided to renegotiate those agreements.

Prince Township and Batchewana First Nation both signed new agreements with the City, but Garden River refused.

The City nonetheless continued to supply fire services to Garden River as negotiations continued.

Band council repeatedly rejected agreements

"On several occasions, both parties appeared to reach an agreement only to have it rejected by the Garden River Band Council," McCoy says.

David Fluke, the Soo's fire chief in January 1993, wrote then in a report to City Hall that: "One matter still outstanding is the payment to the City of an amount totalling $96,599.99 for the period September 15, 1989 to December 31, 1992 for the provision of fire protection services.

$223,355 in services delivered

"It is interesting to note if the Band was to pay for these services on the same per capita cost basis as the residents of Sault Ste. Marie for the same time period, the cost would have been $223,355," Fluke wrote.

With Garden River First Nation unwilling to negotiate snowmobile access, it's expected Council will be unable to proceed on the issue on Monday night.

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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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