Algonquin Comprehensive Land Claim Committee
December 2020
Hello LCPOA Members;
The LCPOA has been provided the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to the Algonguin Land Claim - Proposed Settlement Lands in eastern Ontario.
Lorne Monahan worked with a group of property owners (Roy & Liz Shultis, Bonnie McCluskey, Jake Kitts, Jeff & Tania Johnston, Ray & Debborah McGrath, Herb Weckwerth, Leo Kelly, Pat O'Neill, Jim Rapp & Kathleen Kearney) and the previous ALC team (George Von Jagow, Jack Rosien, Michael Johnson and Wayne Spooner) to complete research and offer feedback. George Green synthesized all of the input to form the basis of the attached letter. I apologize if I have missed any contributing members.
We thank all of them for their contribution.
If any member has questions, please contact me directly.
Judy Bates
2016 Report
By G. von Jagow
Members: Michael Johnson, Lorne Monahan, Jack Rosien, Wayne Spooner
The Algonquin Land Claim is the largest land claim being negotiated in Ontario. If successful, it will be the province’s first modern-day constitutionally protected treaty. Since the last Board meeting the following events have happened:
On March 17th the Algonquin’s of Ontario announced the results of the ratification vote on their proposed Agreement-in-Principle with the Governments of Ontario and Canada.
A total of 3,575 ballots were cast out of 7,540 eligible Algonquin voters – a participation rate of 47 percent. Of those ballots cast, 3,341, or over 90 per cent voted in favour of the AIP and the continuation of negotiations towards the terms of a Final Agreement based on the AIP.
Your Committee sent a letter to the editor outlining our concerns about the lack of openness during the negotiations that was published by the Pembroke Daily Observer on March 30th, 2016. The letter was written to incite comment and raise awareness. To date, no subsequent letters to the editor have been published.
Cottage Life Magazine issued a press release about the Algonquin Land Claim titled “How will the Algonquin Land Claim affect Cottagers” at the following link: cottagelife.com/news/how-will-the-algonquin-land-claims-affect-cottagers As of May 7th, there were 0 comments.
2015 Report
By G. von Jagow
On June 12th with very little fanfare a news release was issued by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs and the Algonquins of Ontario. A Google news search conducted on June 22nd showed that not a single major Canadian newspaper, magazine or broadcaster reported on the news release. Briefly, the news release stated the following:
"Further to recent requests for an update on the status of the Algonquin land claim negotiations, we are pleased to provide the following information.
As you know, the Preliminary Draft Agreement-in-Principle was publicly released in December 2012. Thereafter, there were a number of public meetings and meetings with various groups and individuals. After careful review by legal counsel and by the negotiators, a number of changes were made to the text of the proposed Agreement-in-Principle including changes to the land selections. In 2014, persons with legal interests in the land selections were advised of the changes made to date to the land selections.
The next planned step in the process was the initialing of a proposed Agreement-in-Principle indicating agreement on the text by the negotiators for the Algonquins, Canada and Ontario. That initialing took place recently on May 29, 2015. The next anticipated step will be an Algonquin ratification vote on the proposed AIP. The Algonquins of Ontario have not yet set a date for the vote. Such decisions are now in their hands. If the vote is successful, approval of the Governments of Ontario and Canada will then be sought before the next stage of negotiations proceeds.
Final Agreement Negotiations
The final stage of negotiations is expected to take several years. Various forms of informal and formal consultation will continue throughout these negotiations, including processes related to environmental assessment of the proposed lands package and parks additions, municipal planning and fisheries planning.
If the negotiations conclude successfully, the result will be a final agreement, which will be subject to a final Algonquin ratification vote and the approval of the governments of Ontario and Canada. The land claim settlement will take the form of a modern-day treaty and will be given legal force through implementing provincial and federal legislation.”
The agreement-in-principle (AIP) proposes the transfer of $300 million in capital funding and 117,500 acres of provincial Crown lands to Algonquin ownership.
To the best of our knowledge, the lands being claimed in and around Lake Clear are as follows:
2014 Report:
By G. von Jagow
Michael Johnson was interviewed regarding Algonquin Land Claims.. The interview was arranged by John Winters with Host Angelo Viola of Outdoor Journal Radio and broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet “The Fan”, Toronto 590 AM radio, Ottawa 1310 AM radio, Kitchener 510 AM radio and Halifax 95.7 FM radio. Michael is a key member on the LCPOA ALC Committee, with George von Jagow as chair. Last fall, Michael was interviewed extensively by the LEADER on this same topic.
Our Algonquin Land Claim (ALC) Committee has been working in concert with other similarly minded organizations and individuals in this area of eastern Ontario to develop a joint statement of concern. Below is a copy of the document forwarded June 5 to the Prime Minister and select Federal Cabinet Ministers with copies to the Premier of Ontario, select Provincial Cabinet Ministers and select MP’s and MPP’s. Thanks are extended to our committee members, and especially to Michael Johnson.
There has also been the recent Supreme Court decision regarding the Tsilhqot'in Nation in British Columbia. Although everything is too recent for us to fully understand the implications, this recent special column from the Globe & Mail provides the insight from
Gordon Gibson, author of "A New Look at Canadian Indian Policy – Respect the Collective, Promote the Individual" http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/the-claims-are-just-but-this-means-chaos/article19377387/
The remaining thing that needs to be done is to make our politicians aware that YOU also feel impacted by the current state of the Algonquin Land Claim and you want to be informed and provided with the opportunity to express your opinion and concerns before the Land Claim is passed. Take the time to read the letter in the June 16th update and listen to the podcast to help you formalize your own opinion, or to throw your support behind what your committee has researched on your behalf.
| oct._2017_letter.pdf |
| eganville_leader_-_march_23_2016.pdf |
| dec._letter.pdf |
| alc_final-june_4_2014.pdf |