By the time you read this, Quebec Premier Jean Charest is expected to have announced that a governance agreement to restore Cree land rights will have been reached with the Grand Council of the Cree.
Since Bill 40, which created the Municipalité de Baie James (MBJ), was adopted by the Quebec National Assembly in 2001, the Cree have been on difficult ground with the province as because of the rights it granted to non-Native communities in the vicinity of Eeyou Istchee.
Eleven years later, Grand Chief Coon Come has negotiated a permanent deal with the province to finally see the dismantling of the MBJ and allow for greater power to be restored to the Crees over Category I, II and III lands in the territory.
The new Agreement on Governance in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory between the Crees of Eeyou Istchee and the Government of Quebec abolishes old regimes and paves the way for a new harmony to found between the ancestral stewards of the land and those that have formed communities around them.
After an examination of the new agreement, the Nation spoke to Grand Chief Coon Come to shed light on what it will mean for the Cree.
The Nation: Since we last talked about this Governance Agreement in 2011, how much has it evolved?
Grand Chief Coon Come: We signed the Framework Agreement a little more than a year ago. Since that time my negotiating team has been working hard to conclude a final agreement based on that Framework Agreement. The final agreement is largely in keeping with the Framework Agreement and we have been able in fact to secure a number of important additional gains. In general, what we have secured in this Agreement is a significant measure of control over the lands and resources on Category II lands and a strong role in the new Regional Government having jurisdiction in Category III lands. The exercise of powers and jurisdiction over our traditional lands is more than a matter of putting up new signs in the territory, although there will be new signs. It is also a matter of taking on responsibility for the processes and functions through which control is exercised. There are important planning processes which we will now be responsible for, particularly on Category II lands, which will determine what can take place on our lands. This is what it means to control our territory.
TN: There are some very interesting parts of this Agreement when you get down to looking at it. For example, #14 of the General section mentions that North of the 55 the Cree Nation government shall not exercise jurisdictions, functions or powers on Category II lands unless an agreement is reached between the Crees and Makivik, what does this mean for some of Whapmagoostui’s traditional territory and traplines? Will any other Cree communities have similar problems?
GC: When the MBJ was established, its boundaries were arbitrarily set between the 49th the 55th parallels and never took into account the Cree family hunting territories of Whapmagoostui beyond that northern boundary. The Governance Agreement acknowledges that this is a problem, and a process will immediately be put into place to adjust the boundaries so that the Cree Nation powers related to Category II lands and the jurisdiction of the Regional Government on Category III can apply for those lands in the Whapmagoostui traditional territory. This will require negotiations with the Inuit. The same issue applies to the Mistissini traditional hunting territories over the height-of-land and overlaps with the Innu, which will also be a priority, and also overlaps with the Attikamekw and the Algonquins. We have a process in place for adjusting these boundaries to reflect the Cree traditional family territories, and we will begin very soon.
TN: Who was the James Bay Regional Zone Council and what will its dissolution mean?
GC: The James Bay Regional Zone Council was described in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. It was originally intended to be a body comprised of both Cree representatives and representatives of MBJ and was intended to exercise certain municipal powers of MBJ over Category II lands. This body never really worked properly and was, for all intents and purposes, essentially non-functional. However, it remained the reason that MBJ could claim to have certain jurisdictions with respect to Category II lands. With this new Governance Agreement, all the powers that were vested in the Regional Zone Council will come to the Cree Nation Government on Category II lands. The abolition of the James Bay Regional Zone Council is one of the important ways in which the Cree Nation is assuming powers and jurisdiction over Category II lands. The powers will now be in Cree hands.
TN: How has the dismantling of the MBJ been going? What are the major differences between the MBJ and the “Gouvernement regional d’Eeyou Istchee Baie-James?”
GC: The MBJ will be abolished. This is one of the cornerstones of the Governance Agreement. MBJ will be replaced by the new Eeyou Istchee/James Bay Regional Government. For the first 10 years of its operation the new Regional Government will be governed by a Council where there will be parity of votes between the Jamesiens and the Crees. After that time, the representation on the Council will be re-assessed and adjustments will be made based on the demographic situation at the time. We expect that in 10 years the Cree population will be more of a majority in the region and that this will be reflected in the representation on the Regional Government. The representation and the operation of the new Regional Government will be based on democratic principles, unlike the MBJ. No longer will the Crees be excluded from the governance of our traditional territory. The legislation creating the new Regional Government could take a number of months so MBJ will continue to operate until that time. During this transition period there will be an “Implementation Committee” which will oversee the operations of MBJ. This committee will be comprised equally of representatives of the Crees, the Jamesiens and Quebec. The major difference between the MBJ and the new Regional Government is the difference between exclusion and inclusion — between apartheid and democratic rule.
TN: Under Governing Structure Representation and Voting it is mentioned that the Council of Regional Government shall comprise 22 seats and 44 votes allocated equally between the Crees and the Jamesians, does this mean that each person will have two votes? Can you please explain this?
GC: This was done in order to rectify certain inequalities that existed among the Jamesien municipalities. By allocating a larger number of seats to those municipalities that have the predominantly higher population, their demographic situation can be reflected in the representation on the new Regional Government Council. So now, for example, the Town of Chibougamau, as the municipality with the highest population, will have the greatest number of seats and votes on the Jamesien side. On the Cree side, we will continue with the approach we have adopted toward the representation on the Grand Council/CRA, which is a “senate” type of distribution of votes, and each community will have the same number of seats and votes.
TN: It is also mentioned under “Language” that Cree and French shall be the principal languages of the Regional Government, what about English? Also, what dialect of Cree will be used?
GC: While the principal languages will be Cree and French, at the working level people will be able to use either English or French. Everyone who participates in formal meetings of the Regional Government will be able to address the Council in the language they are most comfortable with, and on the Cree side, any dialect will be acceptable.
TN: Under “Officers” it is mentioned in item 118 that the council shall ensure balance in the representation of the Crees and Jamesiens for the Positions of Director General and Assistant Director General, does this mean that one will be Cree and the other Jamesien? Is it going to work that way for all of the positions?
GC: Yes. It will work that way only for the most important positions, that of Director General and Assistant Director General. This was done in order to ensure a certain balance, at least for the first few years, between the Jamesien and Cree populations. This is one of those issues that will be reviewed after five years, and a decision will be made at that time regarding the continuation of this arrangement. We established in the Agreement a five-year period after which we would review the entire Agreement and address any issues that might require our attention.
TN: Under Transitional Measures it is mentioned that the resolutions and other acts adopted by the MBJ shall be deemed to be by-laws, resolutions or acts of the Regional Government or of the Cree Nation Government insofar as they pertain to the territories subject to the jurisdiction. Can you elaborate on this? How long exactly will it take for all of the damage done under the MBJ to be repealed? For example, what will happen to all of the homes and cottages granted to non-Natives on or near lakes on traditional territory by the MBJ?
GC: There will be a period of time of a number of months between the signature of our Governance Agreement and the establishment of the new Regional Government through legislation. Once the new Regional Government is formally established it will carry with it all the resolutions and acts that were adopted by the MBJ. During the transition period we will go through a process of reviewing all of these by-laws and acts with a view to determining which ones are useful for the operations of the Regional Government and which need to be rescinded. These reflections on the by-laws will be brought for consideration to the Regional Government, which will make the final decision on these by-laws. It may prove to be difficult, and perhaps unwise, to rescind the approvals for cottages which have already been built. This may create harmful animosities within the region and make future collaboration difficult. The new Regional Government will be more forward-looking in its orientation and we will make sure that future cottage leases conform to criteria that the Cree Nation will be involved in establishing.
TN: Can you please elaborate on the Draft Plan mentioned under item #30? It is mentioned that the Cree would be working on coming to agreements with the MNRF, would this mean that the Cree would be able to stop others from hunting caribou on their territory through this Agreement?
GC: As I mentioned earlier, the Governance Agreement describes the way in which the Cree Nation Government will exercise significant control through its new responsibilities in the development of land use plans in the region. It is through these planning processes that we will be able to inject the concerns of the Crees, and it is through these planning processes that we will able to establish the range of permissible activities and developments related to land use and natural resource planning.
TN: Item #53 discusses the “withdrawal of water as defined in sections 31.74 and 31.75 of the same Act….” Can you elaborate on this issue? Does this mean that water can be sold to another party such as in the long standing proposed “Grand Canal Project?” What exactly is this in reference to?
GC: We all know that in the future water will be a very important and valuable commodity. In the Governance Agreement we wanted to ensure that the Cree Nation Government will have a strong voice in any decisions which might involve the withdrawal of water. The Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks will not be able to make a decision without taking into account the recommendation of the Cree Nation Government. In addition, there is a requirement in the Governance Agreement that Quebec will negotiate with the Cree Nation Government and with the Regional Government to develop an integrated management system for water resources in the Territory. Since water resources and watersheds do not conform to administrative boundaries all of these governance structures will need to be involved in the development of this management system for the protection of water. And, of course, the Cree Nation Government is involved in each of these governance bodies.
TN: Is there anything you would like to add?
GC: The Governance Agreement is a very detailed, technical and complex document. It is very easy to lose sight of what, in general, this Agreement is about. I think it is important to keep in mind that this Agreement is truly historic, not only for the Cree Nation but also for indigenous peoples throughout Canada. With this Agreement we are demonstrating that it is not only possible, but essential, to find ways to give expression to indigenous rights through the exercise of substantive powers and jurisdictions over our traditional lands and resources. From an international perspective, what we are demonstrating with this agreement, is that it is possible to put into tangible and functional processes important elements of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which speak to the right to participate fully, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the state; and the right of indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen our distinctive relationship with our lands, territories, and resources. We are showing that our unique rights — treaty rights and aboriginal rights — can be incorporated into the political and economic life of Quebec in such a way as to ensure social harmony and ensure orderly development for the benefit of all peoples. Our focus over the years in insisting on the acknowledgment of our human rights, including our aboriginal and treaty rights, has been well placed.
