Province seeks working relationship with KI

Representatives of three provincial ministries met with Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug’s membership Aug. 17-18 in the community.
Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry (MNDMF) and Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs reps discussed five key issues during a two-day session.
According to Aboriginal Affairs spokesman Greg Flood: “Ministry officials recently met with KI and presented a draft Memorandum of Co-operation (MOC) for their consideration.”
But KI Chief Donny Morris saw it differently.
“They come to the table with a finished product and expect us to endorse it,” Morris said.
Morris would like to be pro-active in the negotiation of agreements.
“The task at hand is how do we start putting these things on paper, our own policies, our own regulations? There is a lot of work still to be done in the nation-to-nation discussions that we want to initiate.”
Jacob Ostaman, director of the KI lands and environment unit, provided technical and political advice regarding land-use matters for the community during the ministries visit.
“The first issue deals with converting Post Island, where the community exists, to a full reserve, rather than having provincial crown lands,” Ostaman said.
A second area is the environmental clean up of contaminated lands.
“We know there is contamination of those provincial crown lands,” Ostaman said. “Before they become reserve lands, we want the province to clean up those lands.”
A third issue on the agenda was the potential of mineral exploration and some development opportunities in working with the MNDMF.
Economic development opportunities in mining and tourism are the fourth point of the memorandum of cooperation
“We should be able to start a working relationship in terms of economic development,” Ostaman said. “There are a number of opportunities that exist in KI.”
The final aspect of the MOC is land-use planning and other land related issues dealing with off reserve issues and resources. KI has a land documentation project outlining its traditional lands, as well as its occupancy and use of lands.
Agreement in hands of community
The ministry of Aboriginal affairs is behind the project, according to its spokesman.
“The Government of Ontario is committed to engaging in joint dialogue to make practical progress on matters such as economic development opportunities, land use planning and other land related issues in KI’s traditional territory,” Flood wrote in an email.
“The departments were all there – the bureaucrats were there, but not the ministers,” Morris said. “There are a whole variety of reasons we have to work with them, in terms of co-governance and co-management.”
For the people of KI, it comes down to sharing. They would like to take a different approach with the adaptation of small changes to see where it takes them, Morris said.
Morris stressed the traditional territory is “strictly off limits to development.”
However, the lands are still there to be used for the purpose of hunting, fishing and trapping.
“These lands were set aside for our purpose,” Morris said.
The memorandum will be translated into Oji-Cree for the Elders to review and a community meeting will follow.
Community members also requested there be more signatories to the co-operation agreement than just the chief himself.
“We gave it back to the community to decide. We have to go back and re-strategize and the same thing with them,” Morris said.
Ostaman said KI has opposed the Mining Act, as well as Bill 191, the Far North Act.
“It is on the record KI opposed those bills and we will continue to oppose those bills because we need to continue to recognize our Aboriginal and treaty rights. Those two acts don’t address Aboriginal treaty rights.”
Added Flood: “The draft MOC will not affect the treaty rights of the KI membership. The draft MOC specifically acknowledges Ontario respects the protection provided for existing Aboriginal and treaty rights as recognized and affirmed by Sec. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.”
KI has customary voting processes in place for the people to decide if they want chief and council to sign the MOC.
If the community members agree to support the MOC, Morris would like to see the ministers in attendance to affix their signatures.