The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) Electronic Version Obtained from Table of Contents
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The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) Electronic Version obtained from http://www.gcc.ca/ Table of Contents Section Page Map of Territory..........................................................................................................................1 Philosophy of the Agreement...................................................................................................2 Section 1 : Definitions................................................................................................................13 Section 2 : Principal Provisions................................................................................................16 Section 3 : Eligibility ..................................................................................................................22 Section 4 : Preliminary Territorial Description.....................................................................40 Section 5 : Land Regime.............................................................................................................55 Section 6 : Land Selection - Inuit of Quebec,.........................................................................69 Section 7 : Land Regime Applicable to the Inuit..................................................................73 Section 8 : Technical Aspects....................................................................................................86 Section 9 : Local Government over Category IA Lands.......................................................121 Section 10 : Cree Local Government (Category 1B)..............................................................123 Section 11A : Cree Regional Authority...................................................................................132 Section 11B : James Bay Regional Zone Council ..................................................................133 Section 12 : Local Government North of the 55th Parallel..................................................136 Section 13 : Regional Government North of the 55th Parallel ...........................................168 Section 14 : Cree Health and Social Services.........................................................................192 Section 15 : Health and Social Services (Inuit)......................................................................197 Section 16 : Cree Education ......................................................................................................202 Section 17 : Education (Inuit)....................................................................................................209 Section 18: Administration of Justice (Crees)........................................................................220 Section 19: Police (Crees)...........................................................................................................225 Section 20: Administration of Justice (Inuit).........................................................................228 Section 21: Police (Inuit) ............................................................................................................231 Section 22 Environment and Future Development Below the 55th Parallel ...................234 Section 23: Environment and Future Development North of the 55th Parallel..............254 Section 24 : Hunting, Fishing and Trapping..........................................................................269 Section 25: Compensation and Taxation ................................................................................295 Section 26 : Cree Legal Entities.................................................................................................301 Section 27 : Inuit Legal Entities................................................................................................307 Section 28 : Economic and Social Development – Crees .....................................................313 Section 29 : Inuit Economic and Social Development .........................................................322 Section 30 : Income Security Program for Cree Hunters and Trappers............................330 Complementary Agreement no. 1 ............................................................................................343 Complementary Agreement no. 2 ............................................................................................360 Complementary Agreement no. 3 ............................................................................................363 Complementary Agreement no. 4 ............................................................................................373 Complementary Agreement no. 5 ............................................................................................378 Complementary Agreement no. 6 ............................................................................................380 Complementary Agreement no. 7 ............................................................................................427 Complementary Agreement no. 8 ............................................................................................435 Complementary Agreement no. 9 ............................................................................................446 Complementary Agreement no. 10 ..........................................................................................448 Map of Territory Philosophy of the Agreement Mr. Chairman and Honorable- Members, Two years ago, in November of 1973, the Prime Minister of Quebec mandated me to negotiate a settlement with the native peoples of Nouveau-Quebec and the James Bay region. I am here today to report on the Agreement that we have drafted. After two years of intensive, difficult, complicated negotiations, we are on the point of making history. I think it is no exaggeration to say that the reaching of this draft Agreement is a major event for Quebec, for the native peoples of Quebec, for all the population of Quebec. Indeed, it is a major event in the history of North America, for there has never been any other agreement like it. After two years we have been discussing the settlement of the claims put forward by the James Bay Crees and the Inuit of northern Quebec. The media have talked about land and money. But what, in fact, is the real meaning of this Agreement? This is not just an Agreement dealing with territorial and financial issues that involve a population of 10,000 souls. This is not just an agreement between a government and a group of persons forming apart of our society. This is an Agreement that foresees the rational organization of a territory of 410,000 square miles-with all that this objective implies. This Agreement has enabled us to accomplish two great tasks to which the government committed itself. It enables us to fulfill our obligations to the native peoples who inhabit our north, and to affirm finally Quebec's presence throughout its entire territory. You may wonder at that last remark, and I can well imagine why. It would be natural to assume that Quebec has always been fully exercising its powers and authority everywhere in its domain, that the structures of the state have made Quebec's presence felt everywhere within its boundaries. But that has not exactly been the case. Let me begin by explaining the historical context. As Honorable Members know, Quebec reached its present boundaries by virtue of the Quebec Boundaries Extension Act of 1912, when a vast area was transferred from the Northwest territories to the Province of Quebec. In addition to acquiring the territory, Quebec assumed an obligation to settle such land questions and other claims as the native peoples might raise. These questions did not, in fact, arise at that time, however, nor for many years afterward. And that whole territory seemed much more remote in those days than it does today, in this era of rapid technological advance, rapidly expanding communications and of more pressing needs to develop and use the immense natural resources that this territory possesses. As you know, we are faced with a completely new situation today. Within the last ten to fifteen years we have been looking North with fresh interest, and with a real awareness of its possibilities. These possibilities - they are possibilities of unprecedented economic development that will benefit the entire population of Quebec as long as we grasp the opportunity to ensure that it is planned and orderly developed, with a human dimension. That is why the parties concerned with this Agreement include three of our major Crown Corporations, which are represented here today by their presidents. They are the Quebec hydro- Electric Commission, the James Bay Energy Corporation, and the James Bay Development Corporation, which, due to their experience and to the decisions that they have constantly take in the interests of all the people of Quebec, are at the beginning of a new era and of unprecedented territorial development. But there has been a cloud in this northern vision, and that cloud is the statute of 1912. The position of the native peoples was left unclear. It was our duty, the duty of the government of Quebec, to clarify their position. At the same time, we were in a position to remove any lingering possibility of dispute as to Quebec's rights to this vast territory. These considerations, moreover, formed part of the conclusions and recommendations of the Dorion Commission on the integrity of the territory of Quebec and I quote: "That the Government of Quebec take without