| What is the Current Status of Land Claims Negotiations? |
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| Labrador Inuit | |
| On May 10, 1999, nine years after the Framework Agreement was signed, negotiators for the Province, the Labrador Inuit Association (LIA) and the federal government initialed the draft Agreement-In-Principle for a land claims settlement. This means that the negotiators are recommending acceptance of the agreement by all three parties. The next step is formal approval by the LIA after which the actual boundaries of the lands will be negotiated. Once that is done the provincial and the federal governments will be asked to ratify the agreement. | |
| The following are highlights of the proposed Inuit Land Claims Settlement: |
| Self-government: The Inuit will have a central government with the power to make laws and enact legislation over their lands. They will have the right to create law enforcement and correction agencies to administer their laws. The Inuit Central Government will have jurisdiction over Inuit culture and language and it will have the power to tax Inuit. Community governments will also be set up in the Inuit communities of Nain, Hopedale, Makkovik, Postville, and Rigolet. Non-Inuit residents in the communities will have the right to vote and be represented on those community councils. |
| Lands: The AIP sets out two categories of land within the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area of 28,000 square miles of land (72,520 km2) in Northern Labrador. The final position of boundaries is to be negotiated following ratification of the agreement by the Inuit. |  |
| Within that overall area is the 6,100 square mile (15,800 km2) Labrador Inuit Lands. These are under the management and control of the Inuit Central Government. There the Inuit have exclusive harvesting rights and control of new developments. On the remaining 21,900 square miles (56,720 km2) Inuit rights and benefits include subsistence harvesting, and co-management of wildlife, fish, and plants. |
| The Labrador Inuit will also have defined rights and benefits for 17,000 square miles (44,030 km2) of ocean out to the 12-mile limit. |
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Resource Royalty Sharing: Within Labrador Inuit Lands the Inuit receive 25 percent of provincial resource royalties from mining, oil and gas, and quarry developments.For sub-surface developments outside the Labrador Inuit Lands but within the larger Labrador Inuit Settlement Area, the Inuit get 50 percent of the first $2 million of provincial resource royalties and five percent of any royalties above that amount.In the case of Voisey's Bay the Inuit get a three-percent share of provincial resource royalties. |
| Cash: The federal government will provide the Labrador Inuit with $255 million over 15 years. This includes $140 million in cash plus a $115 million implementation fund for economic and social development. |
| Labrador Innu |
| Just as with the Inuit, a negotiated settlement with the Innu is a top priority for the Province. However, because the parties are still in negotiations on the Agreement-in-Principle (AIP), final details have not yet been settled. These negotiations began shortly after the Labrador Innu successfully filed land claims with the Government of Canada in 1990. |
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| In that year the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador also accepted for negotiation the Labrador Innu's land claims. Negotiations on the Framework Agreement began in 1991. By the time the Framework Agreement was officially signed in 1996 a substantial amount of work had already been completed on the next phase-the AIP. | |
| The monthly Labrador Innu land claims and self-government AIP negotiations
have achieved some agreement on certain issues. Many major components of the Innu land
claims agreement still require considerable work before an agreement satisfactory to all
sides can be reached. However, in the last few months all three parties have been very
active in the exchange of draft text, commentary and discussion papers. It has helped
speed the rate of discussion on the issues remaining to be settled.
Province, federal government, Innu Nation outline interim steps |
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