Relationship with government straining

Bill 1, the provincial government’s proposed constitution for the province of Quebec, continues to be decried by many of its opponents weeks after it has been tabled by the Legault government - including by First Nations.

Two weeks ago, the chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) Francis Verreault-Paul and more than 30 chiefs from communities in the province met with justice minister Simon Jolin-Barrette in Montreal during an AFNQL assembly to discuss the constitution and the lack of consultation of First Nations in its drafting as well as the almost total absence of First Nations from the text itself.

Indeed, apart from a portion of the preamble that includes wording such as the “Quebec State recognizes the existing ancestral and treaty rights of the Indigenous nations of Quebec,” and the right of “the descendants of the country’s first inhabitants to maintain and develop their language and culture of origin,” nowhere else are First Nations mentioned.

“There is no mention of the importance of the rights and treaties signed with First Nations. It says that in Quebec, there is one people and many nations that accompany it, but the concept of one people is a totally false affirmation,” said Verreault-Paul.

Two weeks later, no additional talks have taken place, to the dismay of the AFNQL chief.

“We had to put pressure on the minister to even come to the assembly,” said Verreault-Paul.

At first, the minister had sent a letter stating that any comments or concerns about Bill 1 could be sent over to one of his staff.

“It wasn’t even directly to the minister or the institution. To me, it’s disrespectful and goes against the concept of speaking Nation to Nation,” said Verreault-Paul.

As has been the lack of discussion since.

For Verreault-Paul, this is in keeping with the Legault government’s track record for legislation, including the recently scraped Bill 97 on forestry: do first, ask later.

“We always have to react, we always have to play catch-up. These bills have a real impact on First Nations, and there has to be an opportunity to sit down and discuss potential changes,” said Verreault-Paul.

“There is no government to government notion or relationship at this moment with the government of Quebec.”

The office of the justice minister did not respond to The Eastern Door’s request for comment.

Mohawk Council of Kahnawake grand chief Cody Diabo has been a vocal opponent of Bill 1, saying that clear language excluding First Nations from the proposed constitution must be adopted.

“There’s still a lot of concerns about how it’s written. We still maintain that if Quebec wishes to try to do this for their own citizens, that’s on them, and not to include First Nations in it,” said Diabo.

Less than a year after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the province, Diabo said Quebec has not kept up their end of the bargain.

“We agreed that we would find ways to mutually and peacefully coexist. Documents like this go counter to that,” said Diabo, who added that the government had agreed to not include First Nations in these kinds of legislations unless previously agreed upon through consultation.

“What is the fix? Should we now start creating documents and saying this applies to Quebec people as well? Because we can play that game,” said Diabo.

He said that the government’s legislative strategy - again, do first, ask later - is nonsensical to him.

“I haven’t been in politics very long, just five years. But the thing I learned is, you consult first, you make sure what you’re hearing is incorporated, and then you pass a bill or a law,” said Diabo.

With the scrapping of Bill 97, announced changes to Bill 2 that could delay the application of the legislation to family doctors for months, and the now heavy pushback against the constitution, Quebec is doing the opposite of that.

As the relationship between the Legault government and the MCK deteriorates, council has been attempting to build relationships elsewhere.

That has included meeting with ex-Quebec Solidaire spokesperson Manon Masse last month and, last week, a meeting with Parti Quebecois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and PQ member of parliament Philippe Paradis.

St-Pierre Plamondon, the current leader in the polls before next year’s provincial elections, discussed with council chiefs the often-beneficial history between the MCK and the PQ - including the MOU signed with Lucien Bouchard’s government in 1998 and the agreement in 1984 with Rene Levesque’s government that led to the founding of Kateri Memorial Hospital, as well as Bill 1, federal Bill S-2, language Law 14, and the Seigneury of Sault St. Louis.

Diabo said the meeting was a positive one, and that both he and the PQ leader agreed that the Quebec constitution project was a bad idea as it currently stands.

“Maybe we can find some common ground in that area,” said Diabo.

He cited past successes with the PQ, a party that has historically done many things for social services in the province, as a reason to hope for a good relationship despite philosophical differences on language and the question of sovereignty.

“Generally, I think there’s been this understanding and a relationship, at least that has a potential to have some successes. So that’s what we’re looking towards,” said Diabo.

On the question of sovereignty, Diabo said that he and St-Pierre Plamondon broached the topic during their meeting.

“In our view, if Quebec wishes to and tries to separate, what comes out of that is not going to be what’s on a map right now,” said Diabo, referring to unceded territory or crownland within the province’s borders.

He showed the PQ representatives a map of the Seigneury of Sault St. Louis.

“I’m pushing to get all of that back. You also have the greater Mohawk Nation discussion, in terms of our traditional territory,” said Diabo.

“That’s a bigger conversation, and he should have that first with other nations instead of just trying to spearhead through with that, because he will get pushback from First Nations on that.”

That also goes with Indigenous Services Canada, and other federal agencies that are currently not maintained by the provinces.

“He took a lot of that in and was very thankful for the meeting. He actually wants to follow up with more meetings and more information, in terms of the history,” said Diabo.

St-Pierre Plamondon published a statement via his official Facebook page, echoing that statement.

“We very much thank grand chief Cody Diabo and the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake for hosting us, and their sincere will to maintain a fruitful and open dialogue concerning the future of our nations and the ways our people can collaborate together,” he stated.

“Our relations must be based on mutual respect. This mutual respect leads to friendship that transcends disagreements, allowing us to establish and maintain social peace. This is a principle to remember for our future nation to nation relationships.”

[email protected]