François Legault is “arrogant”, “paternalistic” and “dishonest”, denounced many indigenous leaders, after his passage Friday at the Great Economic Circle of the indigenous peoples and Quebec.
Mr. Legault had initially planned not to meet the leaders, preferring only to make a speech in front of the assembled participants. At the insistence of the chiefs, and after 30 minutes late, he finally agreed to allow a total of three questions at the end of his speech, they explained.
“He did not have time to meet with the chiefs, but he had time to speak to the media,” said the chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador, Ghislain Picard, referring to the press conference that immediately followed the passage on stage of the Prime Minister.
One of the chiefs, Réal McKenzie, chose to question Mr. Legault on the territorial question, to ask him to open discussions on the royalties that the native nations should receive in exchange for the exploitation of their lands. Chief John Martin discussed the way in which policies for access to natural resources are formulated, which he says excludes Indigenous nations.
In both cases, the Prime Minister did not want to come forward, saying instead that he is “ready to sit down with each of you to develop concrete projects”, where the communities would receive “a share of the funds. profits ”. As “the realities are different from one nation to another”, he said he wanted to discuss with each community separately.
“He didn’t answer the question at all,” said Chief Martin.
Chief McKenzie made a point of setting the record straight: the land being exploited “is our home; when we talk about royalties, it is not the associated amount that is important, it is the title ”.
“We can also manage large projects ourselves” without having to make room for operating companies, added Chef Picard.
Multiple investments
The Prime Minister announced during his presentation that the government would invest $ 10 million over five years to support the brand new School of First Nations Leaders at HEC Montreal, which was unveiled on Thursday.
Earlier, the Minister responsible for Indigenous Affairs, Ian Lafrenière, said that $ 3.3 million would be allocated to a hotel project in Kahnawake.
At the request of the great leader of this same community, Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, Mr. Legault supported a potential international exhibition on the theme of indigenous cultures. “Yes, I would love to have that kind of exposure,” he said. We need a place that makes knowledge of your cultures accessible to Quebecers. “
He also indicated his interest in seeing projects develop in partnership with the Aboriginals, with the aim of “limiting our imports of products and manufacturing here, in Quebec, to be more autonomous”. “There are about twenty strategic minerals that we have, especially in Nord-du-Québec, which will be important for the future, for developing batteries. “
He also argued that the “demographic boom” among First Nations and Inuit could be beneficial in a context of labor shortages, especially to fill positions “for nurses, teachers, daycare, information technology, engineering and construction educators ”, where the needs are most pressing.
“He is in electoral mode,” commented Chief Picard. He makes a handful of announcements to polish his image. “
According to him, “seize the opportunity of the event to make a passage […] it shows a certain arrogance ”.
This article was produced with the financial support of the Facebook Scholarships and The Canadian Press.