$234M settlement is 'bittersweet,' Lac Seul chief says

LAC SEUL – Nearly a century after more than 11,000 acres of reserve land was flooded in a hydroelectric project, Lac Seul First Nation has an agreement for $234 million in compensation.

“It’s something that’s been a long time in coming,” Chief Clifford Bull said, describing the settlement agreement as “closure after many years of battling over this issue.”

“And I guess the term I want to use is bittersweet,” he added. “It’s sad that the people that endured it are not here to see (the matter settled), but it was gratifying to know that this issue has been resolved in a good way for both parties.”

The saga began around 1930 when a hydroelectric dam built under an agreement between Canada, Ontario and Manitoba flooded 11,300 acres without Lac Seul First Nation’s consent and without compensation.

Bull said Monday the flooding put approximately 80 homes under water and he sees its effects to this day.

“I live on the lake,” he said. “There’s still erosion that happens. We still see bones of our ancestors on the shorelines.”

The flooding wreaked havoc on flora and fauna in the ecosystem, Bull said.

“And one of the big things that happened to us was that we lost our major rice fields,” he added.

“That was part of our economy and a socially sustainable way of providing sustenance for our people. Wild rice harvesting was very important.”

The First Nation is working with outside experts toward “some revitalization of the crop,” he said.

For the last few decades, Lac Seul negotiated with and litigated against Canada to seek redress for the harms caused by the dam.

The First Nation near Sioux Lookout was awarded $30 million a few years ago, but the Supreme Court of Canada set aside that award in 2021 and sent the matter back to Federal Court for reassessment.

The Supreme Court concluded that the federal government had breached its obligations to preserve and protect Lac Seul’s land and to negotiate compensation for the First Nation in line with the land’s value to the hydroelectric project.

Lac Seul’s membership has ratified the settlement agreement in a community vote and the chief signed the agreement with a federal minister.

“Even though it has taken generations, our First Nation members have been determined to achieve justice,” Bull said in a news release.

“It has taken too long – those elders who suffered through the flooding and had to flee their homes have passed on,” he added.

“But this settlement will be a legacy for the future generations of our First Nation.”

Gary Anandasangaree, federal minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, said the settlement agreement “signifies an important step in Canada’s relationship with the people of Lac Seul First Nation and an important step on the road to reconciliation.”

Bull said the $234 million has been transferred to Lac Seul and now a trust committee will “decide how the money should be, in a good way, allocated.”

Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source