Offended by the “hypocrisy” of the Legault government, the Huron-Wendat Nation speaks out and once again calls for the reservation of the Lac à Moïse jungle. More than two years after Environment Minister Benoit Charette received a promise to this effect, the word “blockade” is starting to make the rounds in Wendake.
Quebec announced in June 2021 the creation of a pilot project for a protected area with sustainable use and indigenous initiative. The project in question was that of the Huron-Wendat, which had been refined for a decade by the office of Nionwentsïo, the name of the ancestral territory of the Wendat.
On the day the creation of the protected area was announced, Benoit Charette reiterated that of the 750 km2 targeted by the project, a large part of the virgin forest would be immediately protected from deforestation.
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Map of Wendake's proposed protected area
Photo: Radio-Canada
However, the protection of this forest, which lies west of the Laurentides Game Reserve, has not yet been put into effect and the protected area is not yet enshrined in law. On the contrary, even if the sectors identified by Wendake are still assigned to forestry companies in the regional development plan, the Huron-Wendat regret.
As deadlines continue to stretch, the great chief of the Huron-Wendat Nation, Rémy Vincent, has no plans to laugh any longer. Why hasn't this been put under reservation yet? he asks impatiently. The one that is currently blocking it is only the Quebec government.
Entrenched massifs
After putting pressure on Quebec to pick up its pace, Wendake criticizes the lack of consultations to determine the boundaries of the protected area.
Instead of responding to the Huron-Wendat's demands, the Quebec government recently sent a proposal to Wendake to delineate the contours of the protected zone, that is, the part of the protected area without exploitation of resources. Mr Vincent deplores the deforestation of around 40 km2 of intact or naturally regenerating forests (without human intervention).
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Lake Batiscan is part of the planned zone for the protected area
Photo: Nionwenstïo office
We try to manipulate the surface, underneath it works without consulting us. “It is not normal that the Forest Ministry is working behind our backs to set new limits,” says the big chief. We are not in a healthy relationship at the moment. It's not complicated, it's hypocritical.
The strict protection zone would therefore increase from 375 km2 to 335 km2. The Grand Chief recalled that the law requires that at least half of a protected area be reserved for sustainable use. The government is violating its own law with the current proposal, he says.
According to the Law on the Protection of Natural Heritage, a protected area with sustainable use is characterized by the presence of natural conditions over most of its territory.
The economy before indigenous heritage
According to the Council of the Huron-Wendat Nation, the entrenched massifs correspond to sectors allocated in the 2018-2023 Capitale-National Forestry Region Development Plan.
Although Quebec has initially imposed moratoriums on cuts in these sectors at Wendake's request, the great chief's confidence has been shaken. When the moratoriums are lifted, the loggers get in and it's over.
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The Quebec government's proposal excludes a number of lakes used by the Huron-Wendat for traveling, hunting and fishing. Wendake said Quebec is removing about 40 square kilometers of intact forest.
Photo: Provided by the Council of the Huron-Wendat Nation
If this forest is cut down, the heart of the protected area will also be cut down, emphasizes Rémy Vincent. The Grand Chief calls for the immediate reservation of virgin forest areas and their deletion from current and future forest management plans.
In a letter to the government earlier this week, the Huron-Wendat Nation Council condemned the complete evacuation of the cultural aspect of the sanctuary project. The First Nation doesn't feel like it speaks the same language as the province and believes the government's analysis is essentially economic.
Everything therefore indicates that this proposal to reserve areas for nature conservation corresponds more to economic prerogatives and interests than to ecological and cultural interests, as we can read in the letter.
In response to this letter, Rémy Vincent received assurances from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests on Friday that no forest development activities were planned or approved throughout the protected area. Current hour.
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The Grand Chef Rémy Vincent (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada / Marika Wheeler
Blockages?
According to the agreement between Quebec and the Council of the Huron-Wendat Nation, the nation-by-nation project was to be led jointly by the two parties. “We don’t have the same definition of co-presidency,” says Rémy Vincent ironically. He accuses the provincial government of working in silos and failing to fulfill its obligation to consult the First Nation.
The Council has reached a point where it no longer knows how to make its voice heard by Quebec. Although it sees itself as willing to compromise, the council is inflexible when it comes to protecting the jungle.
During the interview with Radio-Canada, Rémy Vincent referred to the blockades of the Atikamekw communities that have taken place in recent months, also to protect the territory of the indigenous ancestors from deforestation.
I have news for the minister, but he doesn't own the area. If more needs to be heard in the region, this may happen. […] Should we go there? I don't want to go there. But maybe we have to because there is a lack of seriousness.
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A massif of old-growth forests identified by the Huron-Wendat Nation
Photo: Nionwentsïo office
Rémy Vincent reminds that the Wendake project is the first of its kind in Quebec and that the way of doing things should become a model for others. This is the pilot project that will set the path for the future of Indigenous Initiative Protected Areas [et d’utilisation durable]. Here lies the problem. Will it be like this for all First Nations? We got off to a bad start.
Long process
For its part, the government responds that it takes time to complete the work to prepare the protected area. The designation of a territory requires a lot of work at the administrative level, which was done last year, writes the office of Minister Benoit Charette in writing.
The nature conservation core to be rejected is only part of the planned protected area with sustainable use. The talks will begin as soon as this first step has been completed, it said.
In other words, Quebec intends to consult Wendake once the contours of the protected area are defined. The government says it wants to consult all affected stakeholders in the area before making decisions.
For his part, Wendake assures that he has already done this work and that all partners, including forestry companies, support the protected area project presented.