Atikamekw Nation maintains logging blockade after talks stall
Roadblocks in Haute Mauricie as leaders press Quebec to create a nation-to-nation table on land and resource management
The Atikamekw Nation will maintain a blockade of logging operations on its ancestral territory after leaders said a phone call with Quebec's Natives Affairs minister yielded no progress.
Some 36 hours after erecting roadblocks in the Haute Mauricie region, Atikamekw leaders received a call from Natives Affairs Minister Geoff Kelley. However, Wemotaci Chief David Boivin said the minister "had nothing to present us".
Consequently, leaders decided to continue blocking logging activities and the transportation of timber.
The blockades began at midnight Monday. Protesters from the communities of Opitciwan and Wemotaci set up roadblocks on Road 25 between La Tuque and Wemotaci, with another located between the hamlets of Parent and Clova. While protesters are turning away trucks carrying wood, they are allowing residents, vacationers, and Via Rail passenger trains to pass safely. The First Nations group has, however, threatened to block Canadian National Railway freight trains if the dispute continues.
"Minister Julie Boulet says we are holding regional economy workers hostage," Opitciwan Chief Christian Awashish said. "It's rather the government who has been taking the economy of our communities hostage for decades".
The Atikamekw, who have occupied the territory for more than 4,000 years, are frustrated by the lack of progress in "Comprehensive Land Claim" negotiations. Although the Canadian and Quebec governments recognized the nation's aboriginal title and inherent right to self-government in principle during the 1970s, the land claim negotiations have lingered for 32 years without a resolution. During this time, the Atikamekw say private firms and the provincial government have continued to exploit the region's resources.
"The Comprehensive Land Claim negotiation is not a permit to baffle our rights," said Manawan Chief Paul-Émile Ottawa. "We ask the Quebec Government to respect our rights and to agree immediately on new natural resources managing regulations".
The nation is asking the provincial government to establish a "Nation to Nation" negotiating table to address land and natural resource management, specifically requesting a co-management method and mechanisms that ensure the Atikamekw communities benefit from the territory's exploitation.
Leaders also criticized the forestry company Kruger for what they called a "double standard". The company agreed to pay the Mohawk community of Kahnawake $20,000 annually as compensation for wind turbines built on claimed land.
"If this is true for the construction of wind turbine, it should be as well for cutting trees," Awashish said.
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