"Minister to Settle Land Claim"

OHSWEKEN - The provincial transportation minister will be in Ohsweken on Wednesday to resolve a dispute over two strips of land running on either side of the Grand River from Brantford to Dunnville.

Ed Phillip will be at the Six Nations council chambers at 2 p.m. to sign an agreement regarding the use of the property, known as the _path lands because it originally was used by horses that towed barges along the Grand River.

The Six Nations people say the land was unfairly taken from them in the 1830s.

According to band research, the band never received compensation when the land was given to the Crown to help accommodate the Grand River Navigation Company, which travelled the river until about 1860.

The government and the band have been working to resolve the issue for more than a decade.

Last year, the band called for tenders on the two strips of land, 66 feet from each bank and running about 37 miles between the Lorne Bridge in Brantford and the Dunnville dam.

At that time, the province said the band had no claim to the land, but it may have a claim for compensation.

Brantford joined other municipalities in asking the government to resolve the claim, because it was interfering with plans for riverfront projects.