(Quebec) Invited to participate in a meeting on the future of the forest, the leader of the Mashteuiatsh community Gilbert Dominique did not appreciate the rapid departure of Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina from the meeting.
“I had come to have a dialogue with our counterparts. We are brought back to public servants whom I totally respect, but I thought it was a window to have a dialogue on the political level. It’s a missed opportunity,” he denounced.
Minister Blanchette Vézina delivered a speech, then she left the meeting, said Mr. Dominique with surprise, who was rather expecting direct exchanges with the elected official.
In the morning, the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (APNQL) insisted that the consultation meeting planned this morning between the First Nations and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests as part of the Discussion Tables on the future of the forest should “result in the implementation of concrete actions and measures that respect the rights and interests of First Nations”.
When leaving this table, chef Dominique speaks more of a “failed meeting” and a “cosmetic” meeting.
The feeling we had was that the ministry wanted to say that’s it, it’s done, we met the First Nations. You can check the box.
The leader of the Mashteuiatsh community, Gilbert Dominique
“We could have agreed to commit to benchmarks that will lead us to think about the future of the forest, leaving room for First Nations in the deployment of this strategy.”
“Overexploitation” of Quebec’s forests
Chief Dominique is opposed to the “overexploitation” of the Quebec forest, and his community is “concerned about the level of forest harvesting and climatic conditions”, but he wants “the regions and the First Nations” to be able to do everything also benefit from this renewable resource.
For its part, the AFNQL argued that “considerable efforts will have to be made by the minister, and the government as a whole, to put forward the conservation of the territory, free prior and informed consent, the co-management of the territory as well as the sharing of royalties, as set out in the Territories and Resources Declaration adopted in November 2021 by all the Chiefs.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is holding “regional discussion tables on the future of the forest” in the regions of Quebec from February 13 to April 12.
From February 13 to April 12, 2024, 12 regional discussion tables on the future of the forest will be deployed throughout Quebec. “Among the major themes addressed during this vast reflection exercise, we find sustainable development and forest productivity, wood supply, reconciliation of uses, economic development and regional benefits as well as indigenous partnerships” , specifies the government.