The citizens of the Anishnabe Nation of Lac-Simon have had poor relations with the CAQ government for the past four years, said the community leader during a visit by the Liberal caravan on Friday.
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In the afternoon of Friday, the leader of the Liberal Party Dominique Anglade visited the CPE of Lac-Simon. On the spot, the head of the community, Adrienne Jerome, welcomed him with open arms, emphasizing to be “very disappointed with the CAQ”.
“The CAQ we do not have it too much in our hearts,” she told reporters.
She mainly criticizes the work of the Minister of Forests, Pierre Dufour.
“We never had good relations with Minister Dufour. Minister Dufour has never really responded to our needs, especially in the file [de la sauvegarde du] caribou,” she said. “It was a really, really bad relationship. He never showed up to the meetings.
Her relationship with the Minister responsible for Indigenous Affairs, Ian Lafrenière, is better, she says, but nothing more.
“It’s like friend, but no more. It does not do more,” she described. She considers that he “did not lift a finger” in the file of the federal law C 92, on the recognition of the rights and the competence of the indigenous peoples. Ditto for their demand for Bill 96 on the French language, while the Aboriginal leaders had asked for an exemption.
According to her, the community was better served by the Liberals.
“With Mr. [Geoffrey] Kelly, I had a good relationship. He never left me like that, he answered me (…) He tried to push, “she said.
Several issues
At the moment, the community is experiencing many issues, especially with regard to housing.
“The priority in my community is really the lack of housing. We are almost 3000 people, with 300 some dwellings, in Lac-Simon. It’s like 10 per dwelling and we have almost 80 births a year. We have young people who turn 18 every year, ”explains Ms. Jerome.
The Lac-Simon CPE was opened a few weeks ago. A fight that will have lasted 10 years for this community which is experiencing population growth.
Low turnout
Ms. Jerome admits that the participation rate is very low within the community.
“The community doesn’t really follow the Quebec elections. Very few will vote even if there is a polling station,” she said.
What could help, she believes, is for Quebec to sign the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, so that it is “established” in Quebec and that the peoples have more autonomy.
“With all that, people wonder why we would vote for Quebec.”
She believes that the passage of Ms. Anglade can however “have an impact”.
“Ms. Anglade’s visit is important,” adds Lac-Simon council member Lucien Wabanonik. “But the important thing is how she’s going to turn that into commitments and collaborating.”
Ms. Anglade declined to comment on the United Nations statement. But, one of the first actions she would take once elected would be to sign the Joyce Principle. This principle “aims to guarantee to all Aboriginal people the right of equitable access, without any discrimination, to all social and health services”.
The Liberal candidate in the riding of Abitibi-Est is Jean-Michel Matte.