Manitoba First Nation OKs $20M settlement

The Long Plain First Nation has voted in favour of a settlement of a 135-year-old loss-of-use land claim.

In a vote of nearly 800 to 32, members of the Manitoba band voted for a $20-million settlement from the federal government.

Chief David Meeches said the band was shortchanged 1,660 hectares in 1876, and this money will make up for what they could have done with that land.

Some band members will get cash, he said, "and we've also set aside $2 million to improve some of our infrastructure, our arena upgrade. We're looking at construction — constructing a recreational centre that's youth-orientated."

However, he added, most of the money will remain in a trust for the community, earning an estimated annual interest of $600,000.

"Any sitting chief and council can access only a limited amount of that money to be approved by the people," he said. "But the money is designed to sit there for sometime to come."

The community is located between the rural municipalities of Portage la Prairie and South Norfolk along the Assiniboine River.