The Issues Surrounding The Mississauga Land Claims

The Mississauga Land Claims Author Name Institution Name After a delay of fifteen years and ten months, the federal government decided to finalize a land claim settlement that saw Mississauga First Nation territory grow five-fold. In March 2010, 35,000 acres of Crown land was officially transferred to the band, as part of a project known as Addition to Reserve. Michaelle Jean signed the transfer papers and Mississauga was allowed to head management plans and release information of land use. Government and provincial officials were asked to actively participate in the matter to get it resolved as soon as possible. Today, the band consists of 900 members, out of which 300 members live on-reserve. Moreover, the band land is provided with essential mineral and mine rights and receives revenues from both Union Gas and Hydro One lines. It is to be noticed that Union Gas was already paying a rental, but Hydro One was giving the band only 55 percent of what it had promised and forced them to keep the deal secret. In those days, the band had to face multiple issues, and Larry Boyer said in an interview that the delay was costing the band over $20,000 per year. Some historians feel that Mississauga was not apprised of what they had agreed to in Toronto Purchase of 1787, and the area stretching from Ashbridges Bay to Etobicoke Creek went for only 11 shillings. After a couple of days, another area comprising present-day Mississauga was turned over for 12 shillings. The $145 million settlement was primarily based on estimates of land value; it was purely a family effort launched by Maurice LaForme in 1986. Later on, Bryan LaForme was responsible for carrying it forward. Initially, they had to face a lot of issues as Union Gas and Hydro One lines were not ready to give them what they deserved. So, they decided to get officials involved in the matter, and it got resolved but took over a decade. In the 19th century, Mississauga wanted to move from a backward area to present-day Ontario. Unfortunately, they could not finalize a deal with the colonial government, and Six Nations Confederacy offered them 4,700 acres only inside their own property as a compensation for their ownership. I don’t think it was fair since the Mississaugas were the real owners and had a right to decide whether this property should be sold or not. Anyhow, they were given tough times and then they decided to purchase the land gifted to them for a sum of $11,000.00. For years, no one came forward ...