First Nations Rights: The Quebec Government is Outdated!
WENDAKE, QC, March 15, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - This is really the only conclusion that the AFNQL can come to after reviewing the correspondence of the Quebec Minister for Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Change, Isabelle Melançon, addressed to her federal counterpart, Catherine McKenna, commenting on Bill 69 on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
"Talking about reconciliation with Indigenous peoples on one side and denying them the place they are entitled to occupy in environmental assessment processes on the other , is really going back half a century," said the Chief of the AFNQL Ghislain Picard. "True reconciliation is reflected through revenue sharing and access to land and resources. Premier Couillard's promising words on these issues date back to his April 2014 election.
Quebec continues to ignore the many Supreme Court of Canada's decisions such as the 2014 historic Tsilhqot'in decision recognizing that title holder First Nations have "the right to determine land use, right to land use and occupancy, the right to own land, the right to economic benefits provided by land and the right to operate and manage land proactively." This decision applies also to Quebec where First Nations have never surrendered the title on their traditional territories.
Quebec continues to deny these court decisions through its laws and policies, as indicated in the letter from Quebec. "It is insulting to see Quebec denying the contribution of Indigenous knowledge in environmental assessment processes when the Supreme Court has made it very clear that it must be taken into account", added the Chief of the AFNQL.
"This additional gesture confirms the retrograde attitude of the Quebec government towards our issues, by using every means to put First Nations back in their place at the very moment when they become more and more assertive," notes Chief Picard. "A few months from an election that appears to be showing them the exit, is this government attempting to demonstrate an elusive authority over First Nations hoping to salvage a minimum of public sympathy?" In Quebec, it is known, one always gains in popularity when they stand firm before the "Indians" concluded Ghislain Picard, Chief of the AFNQL.
About the AFNQL
The Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador is the political organization regrouping 43 Chiefs of the First Nations in Quebec and Labrador. Follow us on Twitter @APNQL
SOURCE Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador
News published on and distributed by:
