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“We are getting ready to present the territorial map to Premier Charest as soon as he is able to give us a time, to lay out what it is we are expecting from Quebec, specifically,” Mr. Whiteduck said.

The submission, being made under the umbrella of the Tribal Council that represents six of the nine Algonquin communities in West Quebec, is the first step on a long and arduous road to negotiations and, potentially, compensation.

Mr. Whiteduck says the plan is not to demand return of the land to the Algonquin. He recognizes that land settlement “is going to be way down the line” but aboriginal communities, which face serious socio-economic problems, have to be able to utilize the resources of their land to improve their lives.

“What we want to say to the Premier is, ‘This is our territory, and since you are Premier of Quebec, we want to be able to sit down with you and discuss the fact that resources are being taken from the land and there should be some kind of sharing arrangement here,’ ” he said. “We want the federal government to also sit at a table with us.”

The federal government has conceded nothing, but it may have implicitly recognized the Algonquin right to aboriginal title because native leaders are regularly consulted by all levels of government when land in the national capital region has to be sold or developed.

While it has acknowledged that the Kitigan Zibi submission meets the test of a land claim, the federal government has refused to formally engage them in discussions until all the nine Quebec Algonquin communities sign on.