‘Don’t call this reconciliation,’ Algonquin Elder says of Ottawa’s Tewin development

By Alex Goudge

An Algonquin Elder says the City of Ottawa's proposed Tewin development is not an example of an act of reconciliation.

The Tewin land development, 445 hectares located east of Leitrim and west of Carlsbad Springs, is part of the city's New Official Plan and would mark Ottawa's fourth suburb. The land is owned by groups Taggart and Algonquins of Ontario (AOO).

The development has been lauded as an act of reconciliation, but Claudette Commanda, Algonquin Elder from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, doesn't understand why it is being considered as such.

“Reconciliation is not a deal between a corporation or members of an agency, it's not — so don't call this reconciliation,” Commanda told CityNews Ottawa's The Rob Snow Show on Monday, October 18. 

She adds, a land purchase does not equate to reconciliation, and reconciliation needs to be nation-to-nation. Commanda also says the AOO is not a nation in itself.

“As far as I'm aware, it's a corporation,” she explained. 

City planning staff anticipate it could be between eight and 13 years before shovels break ground at Tewin.

Listen to the full interview with Commanda on The Rob Snow Show

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