Native extortion.

TheRecord.com - CanadaWorld - Land titles under review

A team of native researchers has begun reviewing all Crown land titles issued along the Grand River in the last 200 years to determine which parcels were illegally transferred to non-natives, according to a lawyer representing the Six Nations.

It's the latest escalation in the long-standing dispute over who owns a huge swath of land extending 10 kilometres wide on either side of the entire Grand River, an area which encompasses much of Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge.

Regional Chair Ken Seiling also said the threats from Six Nations were not new, and will not impact the way the municipality operates.

"We are bound to operate under Ontario legislation and there is no legislation or legal authority to do what they are suggesting," he said.

The dispute centres around what's called the Haldimand Tract, which extends on each side of the Grand River from the mouth to the source. It was granted to the Six Nations in 1784 in recognition for their loyalty to the Crown during the American Revolution.

Today, the Six Nations reserve covers of only about 50,000 acres of the original million-acre tract.

"The bottom line . . . if they don't come to the table to negotiate in good faith (with the HDI), all development will come to an utter and complete stop," said Aaron Detlor, a Toronto lawyer representing the confederacy.

A team of native researchers are doing "a lot-by-lot investigation into these lands"

Detlor said the Haudenosaunee Six Nations (HSN) has asked the province to put a notation on the title of any property within the Haldimand Tract that was improperly transferred to non-natives. He suggested this approach would help protect homeowners, developers and other parties from unwittingly buying a disputed property.

In the meantime, he added, natives have warned an area bank about the risk of approving mortgages on disputed properties. They've also talked to agencies that set bond ratings for municipalities such as Haldimand County, whose tax base and ability to pay back loans could be affected by native land claims.

But Detlor believes it will take "billions" rather than millions to properly compensate the HSN.

Last month, Haldimand councillors got a similar letter from the Six Nations Elected Band council urging them to stop all new developments.

"We would strongly recommend that Haldimand county cease all development permits until the land claim negotiations are complete and a settlement has reached," that letter stated.

"This would help avoid any future protests/occupations within our mutual territories."

In the past, the province has encouraged municipalities to consult with both the Haudenosaunee and elected band council before issuing development permits. But there is no legal requirement to get their approval for a development to go ahead, providing the applicant meets all provincial and local regulations.

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