Quebec Innu threaten to block projects
Last Updated: Thursday, November 26, 2009 | 8:53 PM ET
CBC News
Related
A group of Innu chiefs and elders held a protest inside the offices of Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl Thursday. (CBC)Innu chiefs from five northern Quebec communities are threatening to block all mining, hydroelectric and forestry projects in their region unless the federal government is willing to hear their demands.
Accompanied by a group of 60 elders, the chiefs travelled 1,200 km to Ottawa Thursday where they held a protest in the offices of Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl.
The communities want the federal government to intervene to block an energy agreement signed between the Newfoundland and Labrador and two Innu communities, which they say encroaches on their land rights.
The chiefs said their land rights extend beyond the border between Quebec and Labrador.
"The provincial boundaries are those of governments, not ours. Our rights in Labrador cannot be denied simply because we live west of an imaginary line that has no meaning to us," said Matimekush-Lac John chief Réal McKenzie.
The chiefs want the Harper government to sit down with Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams to discuss the rights of Quebec Innu.
The groups said they are also concerned about a potential treaty between the two Innu communities — known as the Innu Nation, the federal government and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The communities said they have written to the minister for two years on the issue but did not receive a response.
Their demands to meet with Strahl Thursday were also declined.
With files from The Canadian PressShare Tools
Latest Montreal News Headlines
- Quebec premier visits storm-stricken Magdalen Islands
- Quebec Premier Jean Charest is skipping out on the second day of the national assembly's winter session to visit people stricken by power blackouts in the Magdalen Islands. more »
- Montreal museum offers reward after artifact theft

- Quebec police are seeking the recovery of two ancient artifacts stolen from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts last fall, with a substantial reward offered. more »
- 4km police chase ends in car breaking down
- Montreal police arrested an impaired driver late Tuesday night after a bumpy 4km chase. more »
- Immigrants the proudest Canadians, poll suggests

- Most Canadians feel immigrants are just as likely to be good Canadian citizens as people who were born here and don't object to them keeping their original citizenship, according to a recent Environics survey. more »
Top News Headlines
- Drummond report on Ontario calls for cutbacks
- The Ontario government must curtail its spending with the kind of cuts not seen since the Mike Harris years, according to a report by former TD Bank chief economist Don Drummond. more »
- Children of immigrants challenged at school, home
- By 2016, foreign-born youth and Canadian-born youth from immigrant families will make up a quarter of the country's population, according to predictions by the Canadian Council on Social Development. As their numbers grow, more attention is being paid to their successes and failures. more »
- Whitney Houston funeral to be livestreamed
- Whitney Houston's funeral will be livestreamed, to satisfy the desire of fans to grieve alongside family members at the Saturday memorial. more »
- B.C. house party trial hears from tearful teens
- Two teenagers cried as they testified at the trial of a B.C. woman who was charged after a teen died while her son was hosting a party at her house in 2008. more »
Most Viewed/Commented
- Travellers at Trudeau airport witness flash mob
- 4km police chase ends in car breaking down
- Quebec premier visits storm-stricken Magdalen Islands
- Sweet Isabelle's sexy cookies a St. Valentine's hit
- Trudeau says sovereignty less of a bogeyman now
- Museum offers reward after artifact theft
- Quebec students strike over tuition fees
- Nexus cards now let U.S.-bound fliers fast-track screening
- Speaker denies CAQ party status

