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--March 20, 2010
The trees that once graced the front of historic Bordeaux House in Broadlands have come down.
The Tribune was alerted to their removal by Michel Goudreau, a former mayor of Pointe-a-la-Croix who is one of the foremost local history experts and a published author.
The house is at Bordeaux Point, on the Restigouche River west of the Listuguj First Nation, and currently part of the municipality of Pointe-a-la-Croix. The house and land was acquired last spring by the federal government as part of a land claims settlement with Listuguj First Nation. It is due formally to be made part of Listuguj, and the so-called "addition to reserve" process is underway. In the meantime, it is held by the federal government.
"The property of the historic Bordeaux house located in Pointe-à-la-Croix has seen recently a clearcut of its heritage trees," Goudreau wrote in an email earlier this week. "The land was acquired last summer by the federal government and will be given in the near future to the Listuguj band council. Who has authorized such destruction on this heritage property? It is an irresponsible and unacceptable act. The guilty party merits to be sanctioned. What public body will have the courage to act in this case? I bet there will be none."
But Francois Simard, communications officer with the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, insists that the trees were taken down as a safety precaution.
"The purpose of acquiring these lands was to add them to the Listuguj reserve for residential and economic development of the First Nation. INAC gave to Public Works and Government Services Canada the management of the Bordeaux House in order to ensure a safe maintenance until the lands can obtain the status of reserve. The First Nation is also involved in the management of the Bordeaux House," said Simard.
"In August 2009, Public Works was notified of the danger of falling branches in front of the Bordeaux House and the danger of injury to employees who perform the maintenance on the house. Measures had to be taken to make sure the employees were not in danger. Public Works requested technical expertise that has determined that the state of degradation of the trees was important and required intervention to secure the scene. After consulting with external experts, and because only serious pruning required for security matters may have not ensured the survival of trees, Public Works was given the right to cut the five poplars."
The history of Bordeaux House is long. The land was traditionally the reputed location of the Acadian village of La Petite Rochelle, burned during or after the Battle of the Restigouche in 1760. Some, including Goudreau, dispute this. They place the village farther east near Battery Point, and say French military buildings were on the Bordeaux Point site, which takes its name from the French commander killed in the battle and reputedly buried there. Numerous artifacts have been uncovered on the land over the years.
William Busteed was the last private owner of the land, and had been the sixth generation of his family to live in Bordeaux House, built by his ancestor Col. Thomas Busteed in 1800. It is the oldest house in the area, and a member of the Busteed family had lived in the house from its construction until William Busteed handed the property over to the federal government in June 2009.
The Mi'gmaq of Listuguj, however, claimed the land. They said it was not ceded by them by treaty nor had they been compensated for it. Records show that chiefs, band members, and priests at St. Anne's Mission had complained to officials since the late 18th century about its loss. This was to no avail until the settlement of the recent lawsuit.
Late last year, Simard told The Tribune that the federal government was studying what legal responsibility it had to ensure that the house remained protected. To that end it was having Parks Canada conduct an archeological survey to see what might be there. According to Simard the report may be released by March.*Reproduced from the Telegraph-Journal.
