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Many delegates made emotional pleas not to rezone the land.

“You ought to really listen with your heart today,” Tico Medina told the committee, “because it will affect race relations in years to come.”

The project was characterized as “presumptuous” and “invalid” because it is located on unceded Algonquin territory, which includes 36,000 square kilometres in eastern Ontario. Land claim negotiations between the Algonquins and the federal and provincial governments appear to be stalled. As well, Chaudière Falls is considered sacred by Algonquins and other First Nations peoples.

“We have 5,000 years of history on this site we have to consider,” says Jerry Longboat.

Windmill has been engaging with the Algonquins of Ontario (which did not send a spokesperson to Thursday’s planning meeting) as it moves ahead with its development.

“There are multiple voices here today,” said Jonathan Westeinde, Windmill’s managing partner. “As we’ve expressed, our door is open and we’d like to continue to have dialogue. But who we engage with, how we engage, is a difficult process and we’re engaging with the groups that we know are the quantified bodies that have a legitimate land claim on this property.”

Westeinde pointed out that the Algonquins of Ontario “aren’t fully onside,” but the two groups are talking about how to recognize the Algonquin’s heritage “and exactly what that means.” Other ideas being discussed include youth employment and small-business opportunities, said Westeinde. “It’s multi-pronged what that (vision) looks like — more so than just the physical features of what it looks like in recognizing their history.”