The Cree Trappers’ Association board of directors laid off the CTA’s president, vice-president and treasurer as of October 1 due to a lack of funds.
CTA president Edward Gilpin said it doesn’t look good for the executive and that the CTA has “exhausted our begging” for money.
He says the problem is the CTA executive was funded half-and-half by the Board of Compensation and the James Bay Eeyou Board in the past and that this didn’t happen this year.
The James Bay Eeyou Board didn’t have as much money to give out this year and the communities had priority for getting a share of the money pie, according to Gilpin.
“Less money and more projects. Someone had to get cut. That’s the consequence when you run out of money. But I’m disappointed that it’s the CTA that has to pay the price,” said Gilpin.
Taking a break from butchering a moose, Gillpin assured trappers in a phone interview that the local CTA offices in the communities wouldn’t be affected by the cutbacks and layoffs.
Rather than blaming the James Bay Eeyou Board for the cutbacks, Gillpin puts the blame on the shoulders of the federal and Quebec governments.
The governments didn’t fund the CTA and other Cree programs as was promised in various agreements and acts, like the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.
“The onus was always on the Crees. Once again we
subsidized government promises, for example, in community and housing projects. When we don’t see the promises made in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement fulfilled, Crees have to do it themselves. This means that the CTA and other Cree organizations suffer,” said Gilpin.
Some chiefs have called and expressed surprise, Gilpin said. But the CTA told the chiefs at the beginning of the fiscal year that the CTA executive would not have enough money to function for a full year.
Gilpin said he went to the Board of Compensation again in late September for more funding but hasn’t had any word back as of yet. The CTA is looking for $130,000 to finish out the fiscal year, which ends March 31, 1998.
Gillpin says he doesn’t know what the executive of the CTA will do but added: “We’ll probably have to volunteer our services like in the beginning.”
Gilpin says that this is a step backward for the CTA but the executive will volunteer because their mandate is important. The mandates cover the problems with caribou, moose and “other things that affect the daily lives of trappers,” said Gilpin.
Gilpin, who has been with the CTA for 13 years, said he’ll continue to work out of Eastmain for now.
A meeting will take place on October 8 with the federal and provincial governments. It will be a chance to iron out the problems for the future, said Gilpin.
“They’ll be coming to the community to meet with us. They have money to travel, we don’t.”
