James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement


The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement is an Aboriginal land claim settlement, approved in 1975 by the Cree and Inuit of northern Quebec, and later slightly modified in 1978 by the Northeastern Quebec Agreement, through which Quebec's Naskapi First Nation joined the treaty. The agreement covers economic development and property issues in northern Quebec, as well as establishing a number of cultural, social and governmental institutions for Indigenous people who are members of the communities involved in the treaties.

History

Before Canadian Confederation, the lands of northern Quebec had been a part of Rupert's Land – the territory administered by the Hudson's Bay Company as part of the charter it received from King Charles II in 1670. In 1870, Rupert's Land was ceded to Canada, and in 1895 the region between the then-province of Quebec and the Hudson Strait became the District of Ungava of the Northwest Territories. In 1898, the border of Quebec was extended north to the Eastmain River. Quebec continued to claim the remaining District of Ungava, north of the Eastmain River, and in 1912 the area was transferred to Quebec, subject to the condition that a treaty be negotiated with the Indigenous peoples of the region recognizing their cultural rights and surrendering their title to the land to Quebec and Canada. There was at the time no pre-existing treaty covering that area. The government of Quebec did not immediately undertake such negotiations.
In the 1960s, Quebec began developing potential hydroelectric resources in the north, and in 1971 created the James Bay Development Corporation to pursue the development of mining, forestry and other potential resources starting with the James Bay Hydroelectric Project. This massive undertaking, which was directed by an increasingly assertive government of Quebec without consulting Indigenous people, was opposed by most of northern Quebec's Cree and Inuit. The Quebec Association of Indians – an ad hoc representative body of Indigenous northern Quebecers – sued the government and, on 15 November 1973, won an injunction in the Quebec Superior Court blocking hydroelectric development until the province had negotiated an agreement with the Indigenous nations.
This judgment was overruled by the Quebec Court of Appeal seven days later, after the government's efforts to quickly negotiate an agreement failed. Nonetheless, the legal requirement that Quebec negotiate a treaty covering the territory had not been overturned, even though construction continued.
Over the course of the next year, the government of Quebec negotiated the required accord. On 15 November 1974 – exactly a year after the Superior Court decision – an agreement-in-principle was signed between the governments of Canada, Quebec, publicly owned Hydro-Québec, the Grand Council of the Crees, headed by Billy Diamond, and the Northern Quebec Inuit Association. The final accord – the James Bay And Northern Quebec Agreement – was signed on 11 November 1975. This convention originally only covered claims made by Quebec Cree and Inuit; however, on 31 January 1978, the Naskapi of Quebec signed a parallel agreement – the Northeastern Quebec Agreement – and joined the institutions established under the 1975 accord.
The James Bay and Northern Quebec agreement has been further modified by some 20 additional accords affecting the implementation and details of the original agreement, as well as expanding their provisions. Furthermore, the Constitution Act, 1982, entrenched in the Constitution of Canada all the rights granted in treaties and land claims agreements enacted before 1982, giving the rights outlined in the original agreement the status of constitutional rights.

Contents

The James Bay agreement touches on a number of subjects and, as the first Canada-Indigenous treaty since the 1920s, it bears little resemblance to previous treaties but has become the prototype of the many agreements made since then. It established a number of provisions, principally in the following areas:
Category I – The title to the Category I lands was transferred to the Inuit Community Corporations for Inuit community purposes. Each community was given about 243 square miles. Though category I lands are owned by the Inuit communities of Nunavik, the subsurface and the minerals rights are still owned by the Quebec government, though they cannot extract minerals in the subsurface without permission of the local village and without compensation. Category I lands cannot be sold or given up except to the Crown in the right of Quebec.
Category II – Category II lands belong to the Government of Quebec, but the Inuit have exclusive hunting, fishing and trapping rights. Category II can be taken away by Quebec for the purpose of development but only with consent and compensation for the nearest village.
Category III – Category III lands are everything not in Category I or Category II lands. Category III lands are owned by Quebec, and the government of Quebec can authorize development projects without consulting the nearby communities and Landholding Corporations. Category III lands are a joint use area for Inuit and non-Inuit in matters of access, as well as for hunting, fishing and trapping activities.
The Inuit have always been connected and respectful to the land and sea in the northern part of Canada. It is where we have lived and survived for thousands of years. It is where our ancestors taught their children where to pick berries, how to hunt for food, and make tools off the land. The land, the wildlife and sea were, and still is, a great provider for us Inuit, Cree, and Naskapi. Its important that the land be respected and handled with the right intentions for future generations and future developments. These mandates were created so that our ecosystem and our way of life thrives with growing populations and need for development.
In the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, Section 12 stated that there will be a local government for each of the villages in Inuit territory north of the 55th parallel. The name of the Northern Villages also commonly known as "NV" is "The Municipality of ___________". They are: Kuujjuaraapik, Umiujaq, Inukjuaq, Puvirnituq, Akulivik, Ivujivik, Salluit, Kangirsujuaq, Quartaq, Kangirsuk, Aupaluk, Tasiujaq, Kuujjuaq, Kangirsualujjuaq. James Bayand Northern Quebec Agreement Section 12 schedule 1, 1. P.136|The services from the municipal office are health and hygiene, town planning and land development, public services, traffic and transportation, recreation and culture. For an example, they provide daily water deliveries, sewage disposals/lagoons, run the fire departments, organize recreational/cultural activities, maintain the roads, garbage removal/disposal, lighting, heating, power and snow removal. Summary 12 Local Government 1,2,3,4,5,6 P.6 and 7| It is a public government meaning anyone, Inuk or non-Inuk, could run for municipal office. Any Canadian citizen, ordinarily a resident of the village for at least thirty-six months, who has no municipal debts, no contracts with nor working for a NV, no convictions of any crime under the law of Canada is eligible to run.James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement Charter 1, 13, 14 | There should be 1 mayor and 2–6 councilors depending on the population of the villageSummary 12 Local Government P.3|. One member of the council is appointed to be the Kativik Regional Government representative.V-6.1 - Act respecting Northern villages and the Kativik Regional Government, TITLE ICONSTITUTION AND JURISDICTION OF THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT Section 239| Elections for municipal council are much like municipal elections in the rest of Canada. Anyone aged 18 or over, who holds Canadian citizenship, and resident in the territory for at least 12 months is eligible to vote.James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement Section 12, 46.1|
The NRBSS is an organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the populations in its territory. Its overall mission is to adapt the health and social service programs to the population's needs and to the region's realities. It ensures the organization and efficient use of resources granted to the Nunavik region. It was created in 1995.
Each of the fourteen communities has a local nursing station. Inside their nursing stations, public services include dentists, nurses, doctors, youth protection services, social services. In the smaller communities, the people have to be flown to either Kuujjuaq or Puvirnituq depending on where they live in order to be seen by a doctor and in some cases the people need to be seen by a doctor in the south depending on the severity of the illness. For the Hudson Bay region, the hospital is in Puvirnituq while the Ungava Bay regions hospital is in Kuujjuaq.