Hamilton Public Works notified city council that its contractor had to stop work after a group representing the Haudenosaunee Confederacy claimed a breach of treaty rights.

A targeted year-end deadline to remove billions of litres of toxic sewage may be in jeopardy. The city says it is over “changing demands” from a consulting First Nations group.

Director of Hamilton’s water division, Nick Winters, says it’s the 36th time where dredging work was fully or partially interrupted, dating back to August 18th.

Two days ago Public Works sent a letter to city council. It says last Thursday, two members of the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) arrived onsite via the water, erected a tent, and began building a bonfire on a fenced parcel of land owned by the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) on the west bank of Chedoke Creek.

Workers asked them to vacate the site but, “the individuals refused to leave the site and proceeded to build a fire.”

According to city staff, the individuals said they were exercising their treaty rights.
Winters says the city has been in negotiations with First Nations from Mississauga’s of the Credit, Huron-Wendat, Six Nations of the Grand River, and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to allow Indigenous environmental monitoring.

Winters says nearly a month ago at a council meeting a Haudenosaunee representative requested a fee of up to $25,000 from the city. As crews prepped to start this month city hall claims they asked for more.

“This past Friday, we received a written demand indicating they’re looking for a cost excess of $350,000,” Winters said.

Winter says other conditions have been requested, “they’ve put a condition on their participation on the project, which includes having the city seek their consent and approval not only for this project but other municipal projects. I can tell you any change that would replace the democratically elected city council with another body as the ultimate decision maker on municipal projects, not likely to happen.”

After already receiving an extension by the province, the city of Hamilton is mandated to complete dredging by December 31st this year or face the possibility of hefty fines.

CHCH News asked the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks how much the city could be penalized if completion isn’t done by the deadline. The ministry responded saying they are aware of the situation and say their job is to ensure the city of Hamilton is taking full responsibility of the situation at Chedoke Creek.

CHCH News did reach out to the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, the group representing the Haudenosaunee Confederacy for comment regarding the negotiations. We have yet to hear back from them.

The city of Hamilton says each day its contractor isn’t working it’s costing the city roughly $10,000 to $15,000 a day. They hope to resume work as soon as possible and expect to see a new work schedule from its contractor next week in order to make up for the lost time. They add depending on that they’re also considering asking the province for another extension.