The signing of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement (JBNQA) in 1975 did not put a complete end to contentious relations between Québec and the Cree Nation
In Canada, there are two types of treaties with Indigenous peoples: peace and friendship treaties, and land treaties, i.e., those specifically dealing with land and land titles.
The government’s objective with land treaties was to remove obstacles to colonization and to encourage First Nations members to abandon their lands and lifestyles and assimilate.
At the turn of the 2000s, the Québec government and the Grand Council of the Crees decided to resolve their disputes through negotiation. The talks were successful and culminated, in 2002, in a comprehensive 50-year agreement described by then Cree Grand Chief Ted Moses as the “Paix de Braves” (Peace of the Brave). Roméo Saganash, who is now the Member of Parliament for Abitibi ̶ Baie-James ̶ Nunavik ̶ Eeyou and played a key role in the negotiations leading to this historic agreement, summarized its importance for the Cree Nation this way:
Before the Paix des Braves, the Crees generally felt left out of economic development in Cree territory, be it mining and forestry projects or even development by Hydro-Québec. Today, they feel involved and directly consulted in development projects, which give them jobs and contracts. This is a complete break with the past.
The decision to sign on to the agreement was not easily made within the Cree Nation, as it entailed partial diversion of Rupert River and the development of the Eastmain-1 and Eastmain-1-A hydroelectric generating stations. However, the agreement was approved by 70% of the Crees who voted in a referendum. In return, the agreement gave the Crees a vital role in natural resource development in the agreement territory and transferred responsibilities hitherto assumed by the Québec government to the Cree communities, particularly in matters of social and community
The Paix Des Braves: A Nation-To-Nation Agreement
Today, we can finally turn the page and focus our attention, energy and imagination on our common effort in a true spirit of cooperation with Québec, with a view to planning a future that takes into account all Quebecers, including the Crees.
Photo credit: Grand Council of the Crees
The Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government: An Important Step Forward
In Sharing Territory, we saw that the 1975 James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement established a land regime that divides the agreement territory into three categories of land. Category I lands are reserved for the exclusive use of Cree communities. Category II lands, which are contiguous to Category I lands, form a belt of land on which the communities living on Category I lands have exclusive hunting and fishing rights. However, Category II lands are lands in the public domain and can be developed for other purposes. Category III lands, which make up 80% of the agreement territory, are public lands where Cree beneficiaries can pursue their hunting, fishing and trapping activities, but are granted no exclusive rights except for the trapping of fur-bearing animals. As they are public lands in the domain of the State, this vast territory is under the jurisdiction of the Municipalité de la Baie-James.
It came as no surprise to Chibougamau Mayor Manon Cyr that conflicts arose over land use and planning. (personal interview 2016). [TRANSLATION] “It made no sense that management of this huge territory would be in the hands of white people when the Cree population outnumbered the white population.” But Cyr had an ally: [TRANSLATION] “The mayor of Chapais, Steeve Gamache, reminded me of the need to find a way to work together with our Aboriginal neighbours. It was during the period when the Paix des Braves agreement was signed and the Plan Nord was announced by Jean Charest. Mr. Gamache and I thought that the numerous conflicts and legal issues related to land management needed to be resolved, and that required representation by the Aboriginal communities that shared the land. There was a genuine desire to reach out and sit down with our Aboriginal neighbours.” To that end, the two mayors took the initiative of meeting with the chiefs of four Cree communities: Mistissini, Oujé-Bougoumou, Nemaska and Waswanipi. The discussions were successful. The four chiefs and two mayors jointly asked the Québec government to allow Cree representatives to sit with the Municipalité de la Baie-James. Manon Cyr thinks that the letter from the “group of six” was a game changer. [TRANSLATION] “We went from confrontation to consensus building.”
Photo credit: Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government, March 2019
Their request was favourably received. Following negotiations, the Crees and the Government of Québec signed the Agreement on Governance in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory on July 24, 2012. The agreement extended the Crees’ jurisdiction over Category II lands and also established a regional government on which the Crees and Jamésiens have parity with regard to the administration of Category III lands. On June 13, 2013, when the National Assembly of Québec sanctioned the Act establishing the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Government, then Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees, Matthew Coon Come, stated the following:
I think the days of exclusion are gone, where the governments only consulted the municipality of Baie-James and excluded us and only wanted us to make decisions on Category I lands. Those days are gone. MBJ is abolished. We now are going down a path of working together, and it’ll be a challenge. I am not afraid. I trust in my leadership, I trust in my people that we will do everything we can to be able to work together, to make this agreement work, so that we no longer, in the North, be seen as us and them, that we are working together to build a future for the people of the North, and I think that’ll be good the Quebeckers.
According to Chibougamau’s mayor, this shared governance of a huge territory is unique in Canada and the world: “Learning about each other, becoming at ease with each other, trusting each other, sharing outdoor sports, developing a common set of economic development tools, etc.” (Idem.)