APTN- The chiefs of Wolastoqey Nation have added to their lawsuit against the province of New Brunswick, this time adding a number of corporations for conducting business on their territory without consent…the chiefs said that the corporations operate on “20 percent of the more than five million hectares identified in the claim as the traditional lands of the Wolastoqey in New Brunswick.

“These private companies are beneficiaries of the land, water, and resources that were illegally taken from us,” says Patricia Bernard, chief of Matawaskiye First Nation. “This is our traditional, unceded and un-surrendered land and we are owed compensation for the last two hundred years of land and resource theft.” The corporations named Tuesday are include J.D. Irving, Limited and “18 of its subsidiaries or related entities;” NB Power; Acadian Timber; Twin Rivers Paper; HJ Crabbe & Sons; and A.V. Group.

Today, the Wolastoqey chiefs filed a new version of their title claim, focusing on major forestry companies that occupy traditional lands. The lawsuit now includes major forestry companies including J.D. Irving and the province’s power utility over exploration on traditional lands without consent.