By John Chilibeck \u00a0Local Journalism Initiative Reporter New Brunswick’s provincial government has asked a judge to toss key portions of the big Aboriginal title claim filed by the Wolastoqey Nation for more than half of the province’s territory. The province argues the Indigenous leaders who launched the court action in 2020 and amended it to include several large timber companies have over-reached. The government also says unrepresented, everyday New Brunswickers who own homes and businesses in the traditional Indigenous territory should be left alone. At issue is what the declaration would mean in real terms. Premier Blaine Higgs and Attorney General Ted Flemming have warned of impacts for all New Brunswickers if the six small Indigenous communities, with a population of 8,400 along the St. John River, succeed in establishing… <\/p>\n
By John Chilibeck \u00a0Local Journalism Initiative Reporter New Brunswick’s provincial government has asked a judge to toss key portions of the big Aboriginal title claim filed by the Wolastoqey Nation for more than half of the province’s territory. The province argues the Indigenous leaders who launched the court action in 2020 and amended it to include several large timber companies have over-reached. The government also says unrepresented, everyday New Brunswickers who own homes and businesses in the traditional Indigenous territory should be left alone. At issue is what the declaration would mean in real terms. Premier Blaine Higgs and Attorney General Ted Flemming have warned of impacts for all New Brunswickers if the six small Indigenous communities, with a population of 8,400 along the St. John River, succeed in establishing... <\/p>\n