Cote First Nation [Pilot project]

This project relates to 13 transactions involving the Cote First Nation’s lands, beginning with taking land for the railway in 1903 and ending in the reconstitution of reserve lands in 1963. Originally brought to the Commission as an inquiry, the project changed in approach to allow the negotiating parties to work together on the many interrelated transactions and issues. The Commission’s mediation unit has facilitated the workings of the pilot project since its inception in 1997.

Considerable joint research has taken place, with the result that 13 potential claims have been identified. The complexity and interrelatedness of the claims led the negotiation table to group them into bundles. Canada’s review of the first bundle of claims (the surrenders of 1905, 1907, 1913 and 1914) determined that these surrenders were null and void. The First Nation awaits confirmation by letter from the Minister of Indian Affairs, after which negotiations may proceed. The remaining claims have yet to be submitted by the First Nation.