Oka land deal reached

An agreement in principle has been reached regarding land in Oka, Quebec that was claimed by the Mohawk community of Kanesatake.

 The town of Oka has reached an agreement to buy the disputed land from Norfolk Financial, the real estate promoter that had hoped to build there. The land is adjacent to the disputed pine stand that was at the heart of the 1990 Oka Crisis.

On Friday, Norfolk President Normand Ducharme and other Norfolk representatives were met by Mohawk protesters when they showed up to mark trees to be cut. Provincial police officers intervened after about 30 Mohawks shouted at Ducharme and the others and struck their vehicle.

 The1990 Oka Crisis involved the dispute between the town and the Mohawk community over plans to expand a golf course onto the land claimed by Mohawks as traditional burial ground.  The stand-off lasted 78 days.