Now that the Churchill Falls MOU has passed in the House of Assembly, one of the priorities for government is to try to reconcile with the Innu Nation.

Ahead of last night’s vote, the Innu Nation wrote to all 40 MHAs, urging them not to support it.

In the end, 21 members voted in favour while 18 were against.

The Innu Nation says its own financial analysis of the agreement has identified “serious concerns” about the payments they stand to receive from developments at Gull Island.

Further, the group says its concerns “cannot be separated” from the ongoing dispute with the provincial government over Innu history in Labrador.

It says it is “difficult to understand” how government is asking the group to help them build an economic future on their lands, while “refusing to acknowledge the truth of (their) history on those lands.”

The group says it is not opposed to the prosperity that could come with the deal, but that the work cannot create “generational” benefits for others without also creating “substantial and lasting benefits for Innu.”

In response to the letter, Premier Tony Wakeham says “we know there are outstanding issues with the Innu that need to be resolved, and I look forward to sitting down with them and having those conversations.”