8 Mi'kmaw communities take N.B. to court over title claim
Chiefs say they aren't seeking to displace owners of private property
Eight Mi'kmaw communities in New Brunswick are going to court seeking a declaration of Aboriginal title over more than half of the province.
Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn Inc., which represents the communities, announced it filed a title claim Thursday in Miramichi court against the federal and provincial governments, as well as N.B. Power.
The filing by the group known as MTI seeks various declarations, the transfer of leases on Crown land to Mi'kmaw communities, and compensation. But the chiefs say they are not seeking to take title to private property.
"They would continue to own their property, it's the Crown that we're going after," Terry Richardson, chief of Pabineau First Nation, said in an interview.
"We're saying they have a responsibility, legal responsibility, for what they've done."
A news release says the communities want the the province to recognize they never gave up title to the lands under the Peace and Friendship Treaties.
"Unlike later treaties signed in other parts of Canada, the Peace and Friendship Treaties did not involve First Nations surrendering rights to the lands and resources they had traditionally used and occupied," says a Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada website about the treaties.
The court filing says the eight chiefs have filed the claim on behalf of their communities.
The communities are Amlamgog First Nation (Fort Folly), Natoaganeg First Nation (Eel Ground), Oinpegitjoig First Nation (Pabineau), Esgenoôpetitj First Nation (Burnt Church), Tjipõgtõtjg First Nation (Buctouche), L'nui Menikuk First Nation (Indian Island), Ugpi'ganjigFirst Nation (Eel River Bar) and Metepenagiag Mi'kmaq Nation.
Elsipotgog First Nation is not part of the case. It filed a title claim for about one-third of the province in 2016.
An MTI document with frequently asked questions says it recognizes other communities have filed title claims and these are not seen as competing claims. The document says discussions with Elsipotgog are continuing about harmonization of the claims.
Six Wolastoqey communities in 2021 filed a title claim for the St. John River watershed and the surrounding area. That case is still going on.
MTI says it recognizes there is overlap between the title areas, and discussions about how to deal with that overlap will continue.
MTI says that in 2023, the eight communities formally notified the province they were asserting title to lands in New Brunswick.
Richardson said the province has not engaged in negotiations.
"We've reached a point where we've attempted to negotiate with this province and they refused to negotiate," he said. "So we filed our title claim."
The communities are seeking compensation over the use and development of lands in their territory without their knowledge or consent. The case calls for compensation for the value of resources, such as minerals and timber, harvested from the land.
The total compensation sought is not specified in the filing.
The case also seeks input on decisions about future development.
"We want to have a say in that for our next future seven generations, and that's important. And that's for the benefit of all, for all New Brunswickers, not just First Nations."
Bruce Macfarlane, a spokesperson for the New Brunswick government, said Thursday it "has just received notice of this serious legal action. We will review it and respond in due course."
Spokespeople for the federal government and N.B. Power acknowledged requests for comment Thursday but have yet to provide comment.
Unlike the Wolastoqey title claim case, the MTI case does include industry and forestry companies as defendants.
Richardson said he hopes that instead of a long, costly court battle, the province will negotiate with the communities.
"If it gets drawn out, this could be at the detriment of the Province of New Brunswick financially," Richardson said.
"If there's a compensation package that has to be paid to First Nations, how much is that going to be?"
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