(Montreal) The Grand Chief of the Atikamekw Nation, Constant Awashish, asks the demonstrators to put an end to the roadblocks in Haute-Mauricie and in Lanaudière to “give a chance to the process of negotiations” with the Quebec government about the logging on their traditional territory, Nitaskinan.
In a press release issued Wednesday, the Awashish Grand Chief said he met on Monday with the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, Maïté Blanchette Vézina, the Minister responsible for Relations with First Nations and Inuit, Ian Lafrenière, and the Minister responsible for from the Mauricie region, Jean Boulet.
He was accompanied by the Chiefs of the Atikamekw communities of Manawan, Wemotaci and Opitciwan.
“The Government of Quebec is committed to quickly appointing high-level negotiators in whom we can trust and who will report directly to political decision-makers”, he indicated, saying that he perceived “the clear commitment of the representatives of the government to seek solutions quickly, and to do so within one month”.
Thus, “the Chiefs and I are of the opinion that the path of negotiations is the preferred one. Under the circumstances, we respectfully ask protesters to cease any action that may impede traffic and forest operations.”
Prime Minister François Legault also reacted on Twitter.
“I would like to salute the commitment of Grand Chief Constant Awashish and the heads of the Atikamekw Councils of Manawan, Wemotaci and Opitciwan in the search for consensus that will benefit our respective nations,” his tweet read.
“For the government, it is important to maintain nation-to-nation relationships with our Indigenous partners for the benefit of all,” says the Prime Minister’s message.
He stressed that “a negotiating team has already been appointed” and will be able to begin its work in the coming days.
The Grand Chief Awashish said he hoped “that this ‘blitz’ of negotiations will bring rapid progress”. “We will reassess the situation regularly as well as all the options that will come to us,” he warned.