The James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement and the Northeastern Quebec Agreement clearly illustrate that land claims must be approached in a spirit of sharing and cooperation rather than of dispossession. Québec has gained much from these agreements, in terms of both preserving the integrity of its territory and developing the resources of these vast regions that together represent nearly two-thirds of the area of Québec, or just over the total area of Ontario. A huge area!
Given the land regime established by these modern treaties, it is highly unlikely that Quebecers will lose anything. So-called Category III lands account for over 84.3 per cent of this vast territory. In general, the entire population has access to, and use of, these lands. Although Aboriginal peoples
There are 11 Aboriginal nations recognized in Québec: Abenaki (Waban-Aki), Algonquin (Anishinabeg), Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok, Cree (Eeyou), Huron-Wendat, Inuit, Maliseet (Wolastoqiyik), Mi’gmaq (Micmac), Mohawk (Kanien’kehá:ka), Innu (Montagnais) and Naskapi. Across Canada, there are nearly sixty Aboriginal nations.
Salmon rivers are another striking example of the cooperation and interdependence that need to be established between the Québec majority and Aboriginal peoples. There are over 110 salmon rivers in Québec and, considering that no land treaties were entered into in Québec until 1975, one would think that the majority of these coveted fishing rivers would be the object of land claims. But they aren’t. In fact, only around ten salmon rivers are the object of current claims. Is that really so many? And of those ten or so rivers, in several cases fishing rights apply to only a portion of the river and do not prohibit access by other users. Is there really a significant difference between a salmon river managed by Québec and a salmon river managed by Aboriginal people if the entire Québec population continues to have access to it? Once again, both parties appear to benefit – provided, of course, the river is shared.
Sharing Territory
Category I lands are allocated to each Cree and Inuit community
communityfor their exclusive use. They are lands in and around the communities where the Cree and Inuit normally reside. Category II lands are contiguous to Category I lands and form a belt of land in which Agreement beneficiaries living on Category I lands have exclusive hunting and fishing rights. Category II lands are lands in the public domain and can be developed for other purposes, as long as the land used for development is replaced. Category III lands are public lands where beneficiaries are granted no exclusive right of occupancy, but can pursue their hunting, fishing and trapping activities year-round, as in the past, without legal constraint.Geographic location where some members of First Nations and Inuit reside and with which they identify. In the case of First Nations, the term “reserve” is sometimes used, though “community” is preferred.
Nunavut, the Largest Land Claim Settlement in Canada
On April 1, 1999, the new Canadian territory of Nunavut, an Inuktitut word meaning “our land” was born. It is a vast territory covering nearly two million square kilometres – one-fifth of Canada’s land mass. In 2017, the population of Nunavut was 35,600 people, over 76% of whom were Inuit. Nunavut has 28 communities, including the capital, Iqaluit, where 21% of the Territory’s inhabitants live.
Nunavut was created as a settlement of Inuit land claims in the eastern Arctic. [TRANSLATION] “The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement is the largest Aboriginal land claim settlement in Canadian history. It grants the Inuit of Nunavut title to approximately 360,000 square kilometres of land in the eastern and central Arctic and establishes clear rules of ownership as well as the mechanisms for management of land, water and resources, including offshore, in the new Nunavut Territory. The establishment of Nunavut as a distinct territory under its own government fulfilled a long-held aspiration of the eastern and central Arctic Inuit to control their own destiny.” (Inuit Tapirisat of Canada 1995, 12-13)
The Nunavut government is a public government, that is, elected by all residents, Inuit and non-Inuit alike. However, because Inuit make up the majority of the population, the elected Parliament is likely to reflect Inuit culture and concerns. In 2017, three-quarters of the Inuit population of Nunavut was under 40 years of age. Creating jobs for these young people is one of the biggest challenges facing the Territory. The cost of living is twice as high as in southern Canada.
(Sources: Nunavut 2017; Canada, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development 2017; Inuit Tapirisat 1995)