Gull Bay First Nation ponders OPG settlement offer

Members of Kiashke Zaaging Anishnaabek — Gull Bay First Nation — will consider a settlement offer from Ontario Power Generation this week.

Chief Wilfred King resumed negotiations with OPG a few months ago to try to settle on compensation for flooding damage caused when power dams were built in the Lake Nipigon area decades ago.

"It's been ... almost 100 years of ... degradation to our community," said King. "There were letters written in the early 1920s... talking about the flooding."

He said that's when dams constructed on the Nipigon River system in the 1920s first damaged Gull Bay's traditional territory.  Then it happened again in the 1940s when the Ogoki River was diverted.

"We had almost 200 feet of shoreline eroded right into Lake Nipigon. In addition to that, we had burial grounds that were washed [away]."

King said lasting impact on the community has been significant. "We have elders that are living today that ... actually [saw] bones of their ancestors being unearthed by the erosion," he said.

Wants to resolve issue 'once and for all'

Previous negotiations between Gull Bay First Nation and OPG ended during King's last term as chief in 2010, when he refused its settlement offer of $10 million.

When he was once again elected to the leadership position in late 2012 after a two-year absence, he decided to start talks again.

King said OPG recently came up with a new settlement offer.  "I think that we are now at a time in the negotiations where this can be resolved once and for all." 

King said he can't divulge the amount of the offer until Gull Bay First Nation members see it this week. If they vote to accept it, he added, the issue could be resolved by late September, noting that the settlement would include an official apology from OPG.

King said it's important to put past disputes to rest before moving forward with discussions about future Ontario Power Generation projects that would affect his community.   

Specifically, OPG wants a generating station constructed on the Little Jackfish River, which is on Gull Bay First Nation traditional territory.

"We're not ... agreeing to the Little Jackfish River project as of yet," said King. "But ...one of the things that I wanted to see resolved was the past grievance before we pursue any kind of economic opportunities with OPG in the future."

The First Nation will hold a meeting in Gull Bay for residents on Wednesday and a second meeting for off-reserve members in Thunder Bay on Thursday.