Higgs accused of lying about Wolastoqey title claim

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is being accused of lying and stoking fear through misleading comments he made about the contents of a major Aboriginal title claim by Wolastoqey chiefs.

Opposition leaders reacted fiercely on Thursday morning to the premier's comments that the lawsuit might lead to Indigenous people winning control of 60 per cent of the province's land, including private homes and businesses.

Higgs made the assertion during a Wednesday news conference, but his comments are flatly contradicted by the 657-page statement of claim filed by the chiefs earlier this week. 

The premier said the title claim "impacts every single land owner" in the province by claiming title to "private lands of any kind" with "no limits."

He said "at this point in time" the lawsuit names only a few landowners "but it does not exclude the many."

In fact, the statement of claim explicitly says that other than the province, the federal government and the six companies named in the filing, no one else's property will be affected.

The chiefs "seek no relief" against homeowners and other property holders not named in the lawsuit, and their properties "are not placed in issue" in the case, the filing says on the second page.

The chiefs "do not seek a declaration of Aboriginal title" that would bind anyone not specifically named as defendants, it continues. 

Chief Patricia Bernard of the Wolastoqey Nation of Matawaskiye (Madawaska) made the same point to reporters this week.

"If you're not one of these companies, you have nothing to worry about," she said.

Higgs claimed Wednesday that the documents didn't include that reassurance.

"You can have assertions outside of the court challenge, but the reality is what it says on the actual claim itself," he said.

On Thursday, Attorney-General Ted Flemming joined Higgs in arguing the lawsuit could affect all private property.

During question period, he urged the chiefs to add a disclaimer if that is not the case.

"I ask the Wolastoqey, respectfully: amend your claim. Exclude private citizens and their property," said Flemming, who claimed to have read the court filing.

The filing in fact already contains a list of thousands of parcels of land subject to the claim, running to 628 pages, with the owner names and parcel identifier, or PID, numbers used by Service New Brunswick's land registry.

The owners of those parcels are listed as J.D. Irving Ltd. and its subsidiaries, Twin Rivers Paper, the A.V. Group, Acadian Timber, H.J. Crabbe and Sons, N.B. Power, the provincial government and the federal government.

For all other land not on the list, "the return of these lands is not sought by the Plaintiffs in this litigation," the claim says.

Flemming did not speak to reporters after his comments in question period. 

Both the Liberal and Green leaders accused Higgs of misleading people about the contents of the claim.

"Trying to make people believe that First Nations are going after your home? That's not true. That is not true," said Liberal Leader Roger Melanson.

"We're better than that. As premier he's got the responsibility to be the adult in the room and try to find a solution, and not spread fear."

Green Party Leader David Coon said he was "cross" with Higgs "that he would try and stir up bad blood between New Brunswickers and First Nations people in this province."

The six Wolastoqey chiefs are claiming title to the 60 per cent of the province's land mass that is their traditional territory.

They say they want ownership of the land used by the five forestry companies, N.B. Power, and the federal and provincial governments, and if they win are willing to sign agreements to let industrial harvesting continue subject to their approval.

For the rest of the land, they say they are looking for financial compensation, not control.

In the legislature Thursday, Flemming taunted Melanson about not having a law degree, while Higgs accused the Liberal leader of speaking only for Indigenous people, not all New Brunswickers.

Melanson "basically believes that there's only one segment of the population that we have to be concerned about," the premier said.

Flemming also brushed off questions about the news conference held Wednesday by Higgs, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn and Natural Resources Minister Mike Holland.

Normally premiers and ministers avoid discussing lawsuits by saying they can't comment on something before the courts.

Flemming, who as attorney-general acts as the lawyer for the provincial government, said he "gave no advice" about convening the news conference because "the holding of a press conference is not a legal issue."

But he defended Higgs by arguing the premier "has an obligation to represent the interests of 750,000 New Brunswickers, not just 15,000. He has to concern himself with the one in 12 New Brunswickers that earn their living from the forestry sector."