HOLLOW WATER — Members of the Hollow Water First Nation who have blocked access to cottage developments say they won’t back down until the province comes to the table for negotiations.
“It sounds cliché but we’re going to stay as long as it takes,” Hollow Water Chief Ian Bushie said Monday.
Hollow Water chief Ian Bushie says the blockade will stay up "as long as it takes" for the provincial government to come to the table.
The blockade was set up after the province announced a lot draw which allows people to bid on parts of a Manitoba Conservation cottage subdivision. The land is located near Highway 304, around 180 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. More than 70 lots already have driveways dug out and more land in the area has yet to be developed, the chief said.
“This is all of our traditional area,” Bushie said. “Their consultation process does not require our consent.”
Bushie said the province didn’t consult with the First Nation on the Driftwood Beach subdivision. The province only used faxes and letters to communicate their intentions to the band, he added.
The blockade is preventing all landowners from entering the cottage development area, the chief said. But the band has been fair in letting people get out, he added.
On Sunday, cottagers were given a four-hour window to leave the area, Bushie said.
“We’re absolutely not holding anyone hostage,” Bushie said. “We’re allowing people to leave but we’re not allowing anyone to get back in.”
But RCMP say the band is not letting people in or out in a timely fashion.
Officers were stationed at each of two entrances, both of which were blocked. Police stopped landowners trying to get into the area and explained the situation to them, said Sgt. Doug Ashton with the Powerview detachment.
A tree blocked the road at one road entrance, with a bulldozer positioned behind it. Blocking a roadway is illegal, according to the Highway Traffic Act, Ashton said.
“There may be or there may not be some offences,” Ashton said. “We’ll be investigating just like anything else and decide on an action.”
At this point, no arrests have been made.
Ashton said the band agreed to let emergency crews past the blockade in case of a medical emergency.
The NDP government has proposed a mediation process that it hopes will bring a speedy end to the impasse. In the meantime, the Manitoba government has suspended the cottage lot draw for three subdivisions around Hollow Water — Driftwood Beach, Blueberry Point and Wanipigow. The lots are valued between $7,500 and $47,000.
Culture and Heritage Minister Eric Robinson, who spent Saturday and Sunday night in Hollow Water, said the band is pressing for a share of the profits from some of the lot sales. Also at issue is the use of traditional land, including timber rights, in the cottage subdivisions.
‘‘I think the First Nation has to be respected for their attempts to protect their traditional land,” said Robinson.
He said it’s too soon to attach a dollar figure to any settlement, but he acknowledged the province wasn’t as diligent as it could have been in consulting the First Nation before pressing ahead with the developments.
It’s not the first time the province’s cottage lot draw has angered a Manitoba reserve. Last summer, the province pulled 13 waterfront lots in Lac du Bonnet from the draw because Sagkeeng First Nation objected. The band said the lots were part of its reserve land.
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