-- Local News - Monday, May 14, 2007 @ 10:00 -- Deseronto council is getting a hard lesson in how much say it has in land claim negotiations that impact more than half their town - the answer is not much.So what is actually happening to their town?
Negotiations between the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) and the federal government are ongoing and impact future ownership of about 60 per cent of the town.
But council has no spot at the negotiating table, even as an observer, and there are still holes in the information it receives, said Coun. Edgar Tumak.
Neither town council or non-aboriginal residents have any access to that information. Many residents are worried that their largest lifetime investment, their homes... will be handed over in the deal.
Among the documents requested was a copy of the federal government's research and findings that authorized the land claim negotiations to commence.**********
If the claim is valid, he said, the analysis should be a public document.
To date, council has also never seen the policy or procedure that shows it cannot be represented at the negotiating table, Tumak said.
"It's nice for the government to say we represent all Canadians, but do they really represent all Canadians if the elected government of a group of people cannot participate?" he asked.
Council should get used to feeling out of the loop, said Craig Grice, a Haldimand County councillor who represents the Caledonia ward.
RELATED: White guy blockade planned
Our blockade will start at 8 a.m. If readers are interested in reading the literature we are preparing to hand out that day, please be advised to come as early as possible, as I suspect that not being aboriginals, we will all be arrested by the RCMP by about 8:10 a.m.
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