Quebec Algonquin chief wants communities to benefit from LeBreton development

The chief of an Algonquin community north of Ottawa says his community filedan Aboriginal title claim this weekfor downtown lands not because itwants to displace Parliament Hill or the Supreme Court, but because it wants a say in futuredevelopments.

"It's about LeBreton,"said Jean-GuyWhiteduck, chief of theKitiganZibicommunity nearManiwaki, Que."It's about the whole development taking place in the region with limited benefits to our people."

A couple of major projects are on this horizon just west of the parliamentary precinct in Ottawa.

Aprivate developer Windmill has taken over propertystraddling the Quebec and Ontario sides of the river, on land many Algonquin people deem sacred, with the intention ofbuilding a community of condos, shops and offices.

Windmill has been in talks with the National Capital Commission to swap small federal parcels on Albert and Chaudire Islands and on the Gatineau riverfront.

But Whiteducksaid he is more concerned with the NCC's plan to redevelop prime federal lands at LeBreton Flats.

The NCC is currentlynegotiating with RendezVous LeBreton Group, a team that includes theOttawa Senators hockey franchise,to try to reach a deal.

Ontario'sPikwakanaganFirst Nationhas already said it would like to see 'significant benefit'from the redevelopment, andWhiteducksaid money should also flow to nine Algonquin communities inQubec, including some remote northern ones, in order to raise people out of poverty.

"We should be equal partners in all this. Not just being left aside, saying'Go on your reserve, collect your welfare cheque and shut up,'" saidWhiteduck.

"I don'tthinkwe're ready to do that anymore and our younger generation is definitely not ready to do that anymore."

Both RendezVous LeBreton Group andWindmill Developments declined to comment.

Meanwhile, the NCC offered this statement: "The NCC fosters regular and ongoing dialogue with First Nations' leaders on a wide range of projects and will continue building on this progress going forward.The NCC cannot comment on the recent judicial claim as it is before the courts."

'The border is not our border'

Kitigan Zibi's claim, filed Dec. 7 in Ontario Superior Court, was amove intended to counterthe agreement-in-principle their Ontario neighbours reachedwith the federal and Ontario governments less than two months ago over a massive land claim deal two decades in the making.

• Historic land deal with Algonquin peoples signed by federal, Ontario governments

Whiteduckand other chiefs in Quebec sayit's not just up to Ontario Algonquinsto negotiate title to land in Ottawa.

"The border is not our border," said Whiteduck of the Ontario-Quebec boundary on the Ottawa River.

He and chiefs like Harry St. Denis, chief of Wolf Lake First Nation in Quebec,say the province'snine Algonquin communities have plenty of historical proof that the Ottawa River and its downtown islandswere the heart of Algonquin territory.

"My community, for example, Wolf Lake, has interests on the Ontario side. So does Kebaowek, so does the Temiskaming First Nation," said St. Denis.

A key negotiator for the Algonquins of Ontario told CBC Newsthe groupwould speak on the Quebec Algonquins' claim at a later date.

The Quebec chiefs said they hoped their land title claim would force the federal government to take seriously the question of who should benefit from lands in Ottawa's downtown core.

"They're title lands, never extinguished. And the governments go around saying I've heard Mr.Trudeausay 'uncededAlgonquin lands'. Well, 'uncededAlgonquin lands' is a nice word but the reality is we have ownership and therefore the owners want their rightful place in all of this," said Whiteduck.