The Quebec government is mighty pleased with Ted Moses.
Premier Bernard Landry announced during a pomp-filled ceremony at the National Assembly May 14 that the Cree Grand Chief has been named an Officer of the Order of Quebec.
According to a statement from the premier’s office, the distinction is reserved for “Québécois personalities” who have made “great contributions to the deveF opment and expansion of Quebec.” Then it calls Moses “a great defender of the rights of indigenous peoples on the international scene.” The statement lists a series of accomplishments: the formal recognition of the Cree Grand Council as a governmental organization at the United Nations Economic and Social Council; the creation of the Cree School Board and the Income Security Board for Cree trappers; and it notes his leading role in the negotiations for the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.
And last, but likely not least, the statement recognizes his role as principal negotiator for the Cree nation with the provincial government “As we knew, these negotiations translated into the signature, in February 2002, of the Agreement concerning a new relationship between the Quebec government and the Crees of Quebec.”
Moses was one of 26 Quebecers named to the Order this year. Three were given highest honours – as “grand officer” -including former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
Somewhat bizarrely, the statement begins by noting Mulroney’s Irish heritage. It ends by listing three policy failures of his Tory government: Meech Lake,
Charlottetown and the 1988 Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.
Surprisingly, it makes no comment on his chin.
