In Nord-du-Québec, Ungava is the only provincial riding where Aboriginal people are in the majority. However, no indigenous deputy from the region has passed through the doors of the National Assembly. Things could change this year.
“We want to have a representative in the National Assembly who can speak on behalf of the Crees and the Inuit,” says Pita Aatami, president of the Makivik corporation, which represents the Inuit of Nunavik.
Ungava represents almost half of the area of Quebec: on this large northern territory, there are 14 Inuit communities of Nunavik, 9 Cree communities and, further south, 7 municipalities and Jamesian localities (non-Aboriginal).
Two Aboriginal candidates are running for election in Ungava this year: author and Cree activist Maïtée Labrecque-Saganash, for Québec solidaire, as well as the former mayor of Kuujjuaq, Tunu Napartuk, for the Liberal Party of Québec. The riding had been the subject of a fierce battle in 2018: once again in the race this year, the outgoing MP, Denis Lamothe, of the Coalition avenir Québec won by 46 votes, just ahead of the Parti Québécois ( 26%). The Liberal Party of Quebec and Quebec solidaire were not far behind, with respective results of 25% and 17%.
According to data collected by The duty, voters in Cree and Inuit communities represented nearly 62% of the Ungava electorate in the 2018 elections. There were then nearly 18,000 voters out of the 28,314 registered voters, which exceeds the electoral weight of non indigenous. It remains to be seen whether the indigenous communities will turn out to vote, since the average turnout in these communities was 11%.
“People here don’t know [les candidats]. They don’t think they’re going to be represented properly,” says Mr. Aatami to explain this historically low rate. Mandy Gull-Masty, Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees [Eeyou Istchee] and President of the Cree Nation Government, makes a similar observation: “It’s rare that we see candidates come to our community. And even when they come, they are not always aware of the issues affecting the Crees. She adds that French creates an additional barrier between Quebec politics and the more English-speaking Cree communities.
For Mr. Aatami and Mr.me Gull-Masty, participation in their communities could however increase with the arrival of Maïtée Labrecque-Saganash and Tunu Napartuk, who are well known in their respective nations. The two leaders also welcome the two candidates.
What matters to them is to have a representative who can bring to the National Assembly issues concerning the Cree and Inuit communities, while representing the non-native towns of the region.
“I would like to see someone who understands the reality of the three groups,” says chef Gull-Masty.
Give a voice
Maïtée Labrecque-Saganash and Tunu Napartuk each launched themselves into the electoral race with the desire to defend the interests and issues of their region among Quebec parliamentarians.
“Indigenous leaders and people from the region have told me that very important files are coming up, and it would be a good timing so that I consider going into politics, ”explains the candidate of Quebec solidaire. Daughter of former federal deputy Roméo Saganash, she argues that she knows the legislative workings well, in addition to mastering French. The housing crisis and the lack of health resources in Aboriginal communities are among the issues that the candidate wants to highlight.
“To bring about significant change, we must engage at the national and international level. We have to make our place in Parliament,” believes Irene Neeposh, elected chief on August 31 of the Cree community of Waswanipi, where Maïtée Labrecque-Saganash is from. She is counting on the candidate to facilitate collaboration with the Quebec government on issues such as the diversification of their economy and food self-sufficiency.
For her part, the Grand Chief of the Cree Nation is particularly committed to the protection of the environment, the fight against racism and domestic violence and the improvement of mental health support services. Mme Gull-Masty is also concerned about the effects of Bill 96 on members of his nation.
” The government [du Québec] makes decisions that come from the South and does not know our reality [au Nord] “, maintains the liberal candidate Tunu Napartuk. The lack of houses, the cost of food and the protection of the language are essential issues for the Crees and the Inuit that the former mayor of Kuujjuaq wants to address.
Like his Cree counterparts, the president of the Makivik corporation is counting on a representative who will be able to bring the government to respect its commitments under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, in particular the construction of housing and the awarding of contracts to businesses. Inuit. “It can be a foreigner, specifies Pita Aatami, but he must come from the region. »
Sustain the representation
On the other hand, according to Mr. Aatami, the voters of the non-native villages often know little about the native candidates, which would have already been an obstacle to their election in the past. In the non-Native villages of Ungava, participation averaged 40% in 2018.
For Mr. Aatami, sustainable indigenous representation will have to go through the creation of electoral constituencies specific to each indigenous nation in the North. He notes that the Îles-de-la-Madeleine have their own riding, while the population of approximately 12,500 inhabitants is comparable to that of Nunavik: “We are like an island, there are no roads that lead to our communities. »
A riding for Nunavik has been claimed for several years from the Quebec government, without success: “So, we team up with the Crees and the Naskapis [dans la circonscription de Duplessis] to have our own constituency, between us. »
This project, he would also like the next member for Ungava to bring it to the National Assembly.