Mushkegowuk Council proposes legal trust fund

Mushkegowuk Council is looking to create a non-profit trust fund for donations to offset the cost of possible litigation against the provincial and federal governments regarding the contents of Treaty 9.
Fundraising is necessary, said Mushkegowuk Council Grand Chief Stan Louttit, because “this will cost an exorbitant amount of money and that it will take a long time.”
He said the trust fund is necessary because the First Nations can’t fund this fight on their own.
The possible creation of the fund was one of several ideas presented in the action plan at the conclusion of the council’s treaty discussions conference Feb. 1-3 in Fort Albany.
Louttit and Kashechewan Chief Jonathon Solomon spoke about the proposed trust fund during the Nishnawbe Aski Nation chiefs assembly in Timmins last month.
Louttit said they are starting to develop an entity separate from Mushkegowuk Council to serve as a charitable organization in order to provide tax receipts to donors: private citizens, groups, organizations and businesses.
“We’re trying to set this up to have a pot of money to use for legal work in regard to the treaty,” Louttit said.
He said the Mushkegowuk communities take issue with certain parts of the treaty.
Issues include the taken up clause, which could allow the province to take over land for development, and ensuring the right to hunt, trap and fish.
Also at issue is the new information coming to light about differences between the oral information provided about the treaty, what was written on the treaty document and the diaries of the treaty commissioners, Louttit said.