Members of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation will begin voting in an advance poll Tuesday on the Ipperwash Final Settlement Agreement. The federal government has offered $95-million and the return of the former Camp Ipperwash, although the actual return of the land could still be some time in the making. The ratification vote will be held on Friday, September 18th. The federal government expropriated 2,200 acres of land in 1942 for a military training facility, saying they would return it at the end of the war. Military personnel finally withdrew from the base when First Nations members peacefully walked through the gates in July of 1995. Band Manager Lorraine George says about $20-million will compensate original members of Stony Point, their ancestors and eligible band members. [audio mp3="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Lorraine-George-1.mp3"][/audio] $70-million would be put into a fund overseen by trustees for future development of the original Stony Point reserve.
George says if the agreement is accepted, it could take 15-25 years for the actual clean up, which has yet to begin, to be completed.
