Disputed Kahnawake territory at centre of plans for Highway 30 development

The Grand Chief of Kahnawake sayshe's outraged thathis communitywas never consulted on plans for development along a highway that runs through traditional Mohawk territory.

KahnawakeGrand Chief Joseph Norton is comparing the situationto theevents leading up to the Oka Crisis in 1990.

• CBC Archives: The Oka Crisis

A bill tabledat the National Assembly last weekproposes to createan economic development corridor along Highway 30 on Montreal's South Shore, as way ofconnecting two logistics'hubsone in LesCdres, west of Montreal, and one inContrecoeur, east of Montreal.

We're not going to stand for it.- KahnawakeGrand Chief Joseph Norton

Highway 30 runs through land that is in a legal grey area and is already at the centre of an ongoing dispute.

On top of that,Norton says his community has yet to be consulted on Bill 85.

"We were never involved. We were never consulted. We were never asked," Norton said.

He thinks the province and the local regional municipality theMRC de Roussillon are trying take control of Mohawk land by going behind his community's back.

Legal grey area

Part of Highway 30 runs through land that issouth of Kahnawakeandwas once Mohawk territory.

It's been up for dispute since the highway was completed several years ago.

We will have discussions ... to make sure that the people ofKahnawakewill have their fair share of economic development.- Minister of Municipal Affairs Pierre Moreau

According to Norton,the province was supposed to return control of much of that land to the Mohawk community once the highway was finished.

But local mayors saythe provincial government said it would givemoney to Kahnawake, notland.

The land is now tied up ina lawsuit involving the MRC and local municipalities.

And in the meantime, it technically remains in the hands Quebec's Ministry of Transport.

Comparison to Oka Crisis

Norton said the whole thing reminds him ofthe events leading up to the Oka Crisis.

"We're not going to stand for it," he said.

Bill 85 was tabled on Friday by Municipal Affairs Minister Pierre Moreau.

Moreau said he doesn't think the community of Kahnawake has anything to worry about.

"I don't think that they have to worry about it," he said, adding thatplans for discussions with the community are already in the works.

"I think that we will have discussions in the next coming weeks to make sure that the people of Kahnawakewill have their fair share of economic development in the area," he said.