Liberals pledge to settle NunatuKavut land claim

Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Leader Dwight Ball says his party is"doing everything possible" to ensure the NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC) land claim is brought to the negotiating table.

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"I think it's a historic day," Ball said alongside NunatuKavut President and former MP Todd Russell in Happy Valley-Goose Bay Thursday.

"We will do whatever it takes as a province to make sure that happens."

In a letter to Russell, Ball states the land claim has been "left unresolved for far too long," and that he backs Prime Minister Justin Trudeau'ssupport of the claim.

"I fully support the Liberal Party of Canada's commitment to negotiate in good faith with NunatuKavut on a nation to nation basis to reach a deal that brings harmony, prosperity and certainty to all parties involved with the claim," the letterreads.

In October, Russell encouraged voters to ask candidates about their commitment to settling theNCCland claim.

"I tell you, I feel that we're on the cusp of something that is real and true," Russell said to reporters following Ball's announcement.

"Something that we have been fighting for in this organization since the late '70s and early '80s. Something that our people have been fighting for, for generation after generation."

"At the end of the day, a land claim is about respect for who we are, where we come from and the contributions we made," Russell said.

Hesaid Ball'scommitment is a positive step towards reconciliation.