In a brief email Wednesday morning, Elliot Lake CAO Daniel Gagnon announced that the signing ceremony at Serpent River First Nation set for Friday, June 21 at 9 a.m. has been put off.
Mr. Gagnon indicated the signing was being delayed pending more community consultation in Serpent River. The signing to involve Elliot Lake Mayor Dan Marchisella and Elaine Johnston, Chief of Serpent River First Nation, was to formalize the creation of a new corporate organization with each community holding an equal stake in the organization.
The signing, which was to have taken place at the Serpent River First Nation Pow Wow grounds on National Indigenous People's Day, was to have been the culmination of months of joint meetings and discussions to chart a new path forward for waterfront development and other economic development pursuits.
Once the new corporation is established, the two partners can oversee ongoing planning for future waterfront development within the boundaries of the Robinson Huron Treaty area with a view to resuming waterfront land sales as soon as possible.
"Relationships are sacred and critical to moving forward on any joint partnership," Chief Elaine Johnston said. "Serpent River First Nation is eager to work with the City of Elliot Lake to promote economic prosperity and sustainable development for both our communities while respecting our heritage and cultural lands and traditional ways of being."
She concluded, "When the Robinson Huron Treaty was agreed to we intended to steer our canoes side by side on this land to share with each other. This new development is guiding our work together in an equal partnership."
Mayor Dan Marchisella echoed those sentiments by noting, "I am looking forward to traveling together as equal partners for the benefit of both of our communities. After all, we are all Robinson Huron Treaty people and Elliot Lake understands that we have been working on this for quite some time and are now poised for visible action and growth."
The City of Elliot Lake notes that the signing of the articles of incorporation would be an unprecedented step in municipal and First Nations relationship building in the region, if not the province.