Lac Seul holding settlement votes in Thunder Bay, Winnipeg

Lac Seul will soon be holding voting booths for the $27 million settlement offer on its century-old timber claim in Thunder Bay and Winnipeg.
The Treaty #3 community will be holding a voting booth Sept. 7 from noon to 7 p.m. at the Travelodge Hotel Airlane on Arthur St. in Thunder Bay.
The Winnipeg voting booth will be held Sept. 8 from noon to 7 p.m. at the Greenwood Inn & Suites at 1715 Wellington Ave.Lac Seul will also hold voting booths in its three communities of Frenchman's Head, Kejick Bay and Whitefish Bay Sept. 9 from noon to 7 p.m.
As of Sept. 2, the community had already received about 300 ballots on the $27 million settlement offer, said Lac Seul band membership clerk Doreen Quedent.
Lac Seul received the $27 million offer from the Canadian government Aug. 20 to settle the claim, which involves the harvesting of burnt and dead timber on reserve lands in 1907 and the surrender of the reserve's timber in 1919 to Canada. The community had previously received a $25 million offer in early July after a year of negotiations; Lac Seul had been seeking $29 million.
The offer, which included a condition that 25 per cent of eligible voters must approve the offer, was made about a year after Lac Seul won a court case on the claim against Canada in 2009. The trial judge made a ruling in favour of the band on liability after a two-month trial.