Mississauga settles for $15 million

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The Mississauga #8 First Nation signed an agreement July 15 which will see it get approximately $15 million in compensation for land lost in a survey error in 1852.

Chief Doug Daybutch said Ottawa has provided the First Nation with $7.5millii. The province will provide a similar amount n land and cash. Approximately 40,000 acres of provincial land will be added to the existing reserve. All monies are to be held in trust to provide for the long-term economic future of the First Nation.

The Mississauga #8 settlement, 15 years in the works, sees the band get more land than they originally lost in the survey error, said Daybutch. The quality of the land they will get today does not measure up to the land that was lost, he added.

Transfer of the land will take at least one year, allowing for surveys, an environmental review and other requirements under Canada's Additions to Reserve policy.

The land is currently occupied by some private businesses, and cottagers who have been given the option of selling out to either the band or the government, said Commissioner Philip Goulais of the Indian Commission of Ontario.

If they choose not to sell, the land that is private will remain private and will not become part of the reserve.

The 40,000 acres is made up of small lakes and forested land and is currently in use for recreation, fishing and hunting. An implementation committee, composed of members from the First Nation, local residents and government, has been set up to oversee the transfer.