THUNDER BAY -- The Fort William First Nation Development Corporation hasn't paid taxes to the city in a decade as part of Fort William First Nation's strategy to have 1,600 acres of expropriated land repatriated to the community.
Documents obtained by tbnewswatch.com show the corporation has accumulated $5.7 million in municipal tax arrears since 2007.
The corporation's tax arrears began as $99,000 in 2007 before rising to $936,300 over 2011, then falling to $493,500 the following year when the Resolute sawmill land was transferred to the First Nation. The corporation's property taxes for 2017 have already reached $146,000.
"The strategy is, we don't owe them money. The strategy is, the land belongs to Fort William," said Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins.
"At the end of the day, it was wrongfully taken from our community and we can prove that. We don't want to get into that big litigation process or a battle with the city of Thunder Bay. There's a simple way of getting it done and that's lifting their taxing authority that doesn't belong on the land of Fort William."
Collins told city council the First Nation has no intention of paying municipal taxes on land it rightfully owns on Monday as he urged the city to partner in arranging for the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs to transfer the land to his community.
The corporation's land is part of a 1,600-acre parcel the Crown expropriated in 1905 for the construction of the Grand Trunk Railroad and handed over to the then-city of Fort William. The First Nation's residents lost their homes, churches, schools, farmland, and burial sites when the transfer occurred.
The land (see photos) includes the area to the north of the reserve and southward near Loch Lomond Road, as well as Chippewa Park and Sandy Beach. The federal government settled an 1,132-acre claim in December, paying Fort William First Nation $99 million for the expropriation.
The city and the First Nation have struck a joint working committee to work toward a solution. Collins said he looks forward to the land transfer process happening as quickly as possible, adding he believes the city is on board.
"They've (city administration) given me the impression we can make this work. It hasn't been, 'yes this can get done and this is our time frame' but yes, they've given me an impression we can make this work. We have to work through the details of it yet,"
The First Nation already has lease agreements with some industrial property owners operating on its land. Collins foresees the same kinds of agreements being struck with not only those companies but said he's prepared to work with other interests and land users.
"Even the Friends of Chippewa have raised their concerns. We can work with the Friends of Chippewa if that's what has to happen. We're not about to just go in there and 'we're taking over and that's it.' We want to work through the whole system so at the end of the day, each of our communities will have what we want without any financial repercussions to our communities."
Thunder Bay city manager Norm Gale issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon, calling the issue "complicated" but would not expand on why the city has not pursued any action regarding the arrears, nor whether the joint committee's ultimate goal is repatriating the land to the First Nation.
"Land issues and associated claims of First Nations are complicated and involve different levels of government and encompass many legal issues that the city cannot publicly address. I am aware however of the outstanding balance and we are working toward resolving this. There are other interconnected issues associated and we are using the proper and most appropriate channels," Gale wrote.
"Our joint committee was established to deal with a myriad of issues affecting the two communities and we are pursuing that work."
