In a surprise move that has left many confused, Cree chiefs and Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come decided to temporarily suspend the Cree forestry lawsuit at a meeting on Sept. 15, sources reported.
The Cree leadership voted to enter negotiations with Quebec on forestry and will suspend the case when the talks start, said sources.
The decision followed intense pressure from the Quebec government and the 27 logging companies targetted in the lawsuit.
The Cree leadership took the move because Quebec threatened to cut off $15-million in funding promised by the province under the “MOU” deal, sources said.
Chief Billy Diamond of Waskaganish, the head negotiator with Quebec, told the chiefs that the province wasn’t coughing up any of the $15 million, sources said. The funds were supposed to pay for community projects first promised in 1975.
The $600-million-plus lawsuit was awaited for years by Cree hunters and trappers hurt by logging. It was launched after an extensive community consultation process. Each of the five affected communities gave their go-ahead and dozens of Cree co-plaintiffs signed on, everyone from the Grand Chief to trappers.
But few were consulted before the meeting where the case was suspended, held in Montreal. Many chiefs were surprised by the idea. Even most of the lawyers working on the case didn’t know.
“What?! Where did you get that information? I’m working on the case right now,” exclaimed one lawyer when informed of the decision. “It’s news to me,” said another startled lawyer. “I’ve heard nothing at all about this.”
Many Crees were disappointed by the news. “It’s a sad day for the Crees,” said one Cree official. “Quebec has taken us hostage. Given the consultation process we expected the Cree leadership to take a strong stand on behalf of the Cree people. As one chief said, the MOU has become nothing more than an I OU.”
An official at the Cree-Naskapi Commission said the decision may not even have any legal basis, since it was made at a chiefs’ meeting. The court action was originally approved at a meeting of the full Council/Board of the Grand Council of the Crees/Cree Regional Authority.
Under the law, Council/Board decisions can’t in most cases be reversed by a chiefs’ meeting, said the Commission official.
Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come was unavailable for comment due to the sudden passing away of Bill Grodinsky, a lawyer to the Crees for two decades.
Lawyer Jean-Sebastien Clément, who is working on the court action, said it is still on “for the moment.” He said the Cree leadership decided to “propose negotiations with Quebec over a whole lot of issues, including forestry.”
Clément added, “It’s normal to have negotiations and litigation at the same time. We’re not going to pull the litigation until we get something.”
But a Cree source said the chiefs definitely did vote to suspend the case. Besidescompensation, the lawsuit sought an injunction on logging in James Bay and the annulment of the Quebec Forest Act.
