Demands for improved consultations
A plan to turn Route 132 into an urban boulevard is one project that’s been stalled because of delays in consulting the community of Kahnawake, the Roussillon regional county says. File photo
The Roussillon regional county is calling on candidates in the federal election to commit to improving the way Canada currently approaches its duty to consult with Kahnawake.
“While consultation is necessary in order to respect Indigenous rights, the way they are currently carried out is proving to be ineffective,” the regional county wrote in a recent press release, saying “poorly coordinated” consultation processes are leading to major projects being delayed.
Some of those projects include an intermunicipal plan to turn Route 132 into an urban boulevard, one to prevent erosion to the shoreline of the St. Regis River, as well as a plan for an agriculture “incubator” in St. Isidore.
“Better collaboration between different levels of government, including municipalities, is essential. We therefore ask candidates in the federal election to clearly outline their position regarding their willingness to support regional initiatives aimed at strengthening our relationship with the community of Kahnawake,” Christian Ouellette, the regional county’s prefect and mayor of Delson, was quoted as saying in the press release. Ouellette is on vacation this week and was not available for comment.
Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) grand chief Cody Diabo said projects wouldn’t end up being delayed if the Quebec and Canadian government stepped up and consulted them sooner on.
“What ends up happening is we’re brought in at the very late stages,” he said.
Then once the MCK seeks information from either Canada or Quebec to assess the extent to which their rights could be infringed, the wait times can be incredible, he said.
“We’re not sitting here trying to be difficult neighbours,” Diabo said. “If they’re telling their representatives that the situation needs to be worked on, hopefully it triggers some actual dialogue.”
The plan aimed at making the St. Regis River more resilient to erosion is something the regional county launched years ago, and yet the formal consultation process with Kahnawake only began a “few weeks to a couple of months ago,” Diabo said.
The land being considered for farm use in St. Isidore is currently being offered up to Kahnawake by Canada, however the band council has yet to decide if it will take it, which has delayed the project. It has requested more information about the land from the federal government, information it’s still waiting on receiving, Diabo said.
“It’s not that we’re opposed to that, it’s just we need to figure out some of the details about the land first, before we put anything on there,” the MCK grand chief said, saying he’s very much open to collaborating with the municipality on the agricultural project.
“We’re still hoping maybe we can finalize an agreement (with Canada) and then begin occupying the land this year.”
Until that agreement is signed, the project can’t move ahead, added Anne-Louise Millot, a spokesperson for the regional county.
The plan to modernize Route 132 meanwhile has been held up because of the MCK’s refusal to join in on discussions about it with elected officials. The reason they’re holding off is because they’re still waiting on Quebec to invite them to formal consultations about it, Diabo said.
The MCK and the regional county have requested a meeting be set up between them and Quebec officials so a solution can be found, but neither has received a response yet, Millot said.
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The Eastern Door reached out to the Liberal and Conservative parties in the hope of speaking with their candidates for the La Prairie–Atateken riding, but didn’t hear back by deadline. No other federal party has announced candidates in the region.
