The ongoing negotiations regarding the Rainy River First Nations land claim will be back on track soon, says the band’s liaison.
Albert Hunter, also the newly-elected chief of RRFN, said last week he is in the process of setting up a meeting with Native Affairs minister Michael Bryant as soon as the new minister is up to speed on the status of the claim.
“We’re anticipating that as soon as he is fully briefed, he’ll see the benefits of settling this claim,” said Chief Hunter, who will continue in the role he has held in the negotiations as well the additional responsibilities of chief.
He said he’s confident there will be little further delay in achieving a final resolution in the process that has been underway for over nine years. That, noted Chief Hunter, is not unusual since these claims often take 10 years or more to resolve.
In this case, most of the difficult issues already have been resolved and he anticipates no further obstacles to a final resolution, adding the band has put together a package the new minister will find easy to understand.
“We’ve already led the most far-reaching and comprehensive public communications process in the history of claims in Ontario—maybe in all of Canada,” said Chief Hunter.
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