After two years of trying to reach an out-of-court settlement Freddy Jolly is about to have his day in court.
On May 9th, he will be attempting to launch a class action suit against Cree Construction, the James Bay Development Corporation, the Attorney General of Quebec and the Attorney General of Canada in Quebec’s Superior Court.
The action is a result of the Route Du Nord cutting through his trapping grounds. The actual court case will not be looking at these claims, but whether or not Jolly and other trappers actually have the right to a class action suit.
According to court documents, Jolly looked for many ways to settle his problem. He met numerous times with Cree Construction, including once with an Elder present. Jolly has also asked that an Elder mediate between himself and Cree Construction so that it could be settled in a Cree way.
In a March 1993 letter from Cree Construction’s lawyers, the company denied any liability for the damages Jolly claims occurred on his family’s trapline (R-21). The only offer from Cree Construction has been to build a camp for Jolly, which he refused. Jolly is looking for compensation for the damages to R-21, the trapline under his care.
It all started when Cree Construction accepted a contract to build the 214 kilometer road for 74 million dollars on December 19, 1991. They were responsible for selecting the route, conducting impact studies and obtaining the necessary permits and authorizations as well as building it.
Jolly’s court documents allege that Cree Construction’s impact studies were incomplete. The most serious problem, according to the documents, is that the Deputy Minister of the Environment demanded the impact study include a firm compensation proposal to alleviate the loss of wildlife habitat. This was never done. There were also omissions in Cree Construction’s study in the areas of anticipated economic, social, and cultural impacts as well as the potential impacts of forestry, mining, tourism and recreational development, according to an environmental review committee.
In the communities, support for trappers is growing. The 1993 annual meeting of the Cree Trappers Association adopted a resolution calling on Cree Corporations to pay compensation to hunters, trappers and fishermen affected by development projects done by the Cree corporations. The 1994 Youth Assembly passed a resolution demanding Cree Corporations assume responsibility for damages they caused to the environment. The Grand Council has participated in the drafting of a United Nations Declaration of Aboriginal Rights. Part of it states that there is a right to a subsistence economy and a right to fair and equitable compensation when this is taken away. Eastmain Band Council has also officially recognized the authority of the Talleyman in a 1995 resolution.
Lately on April 11th, one of Jolly’s brothers was hit by a car on the route de Nord.
Pierre Lachance, lawyer for both SDBJ and the Attorney General of Quebec said he can’t comment on cases waiting to go to court. Cree Construction could not be reached for comment.
