First Nations say No to PQ

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Quebec can't keep its present borders if it separates, said First Nations Chiefs meeting in Quebec City in early October.

"Forcible inclusion of our peoples into any new independent state is contrary to international law and we will oppose it," said the Chiefs in a statement entitled, "Reaffirmation of Aboriginal Peoples of Quebec and Labrador's Right to Co-exist in Peace and Friendship."

The statement rejects "all double standards that would allow rights to be claimed by others and yet denied to us." The Chiefs also say they respect the right of Quebecers to hold "a consultative referendum" on their future, "but declare that our Peoples and territories will not be bound or otherwise affected by its outcome."

The Chiefs' declaration followed a statement by Quebec Native affairs advisor David Cliche that an independent Quebec's territorial integrity would be recognized by Canada, the U.S. and some can countries.

In an interview with The Eastern Door, Kahnawake Chief Billy Two-Rivers said, "We cannot believe everything that the Quebec government says but we will take every precaution to protect our interests.

"The next step is to distribute this declaration to the widest possible audience both nationally and internationally.

"We want to make it clear and leave no doubt about our position on Quebec territorial integrity. We own this land and we will not be forcibly included in a separate Quebec," he told the Mohawk weekly.

Polls showed the Yes and No camps neck-and-neck in the final weeks before the October 30 vote. The Crees of Northern Quebec planned their own referendum for Oct. 24, and the Inuit two days later.

First Nations arguments against Quebec's territorial integrity were given a boost in mid-October with the release of a 490-page study by Montreal constitutional lawyer Paul Joffe, entitled, "Sovereign Injustice."

The study, prepared for the Grand Council of the Crees, is an expanded version of a report submitted by the Crees to the United Nations in 1992.

Joffe marshalls numerous international legal opinions to support the argument that Quebec doesn't have a legal right to secede from Canada, much less the right to remove the First Nations from Canada.

The only way the separatists can hope to gain recognition of an independent Quebec is by establishing "effective control" over its territory.

But, asks Joffe, "what will the Quebec government do if Aboriginal peoples and others continue to respect and apply the laws of Canada and implementation of Canadian programs and services?

"Will the Quebec government resort to the use of force against Aboriginal peoples?"

Cree lands have changed hands at least four times ? in 1670, 1870, 1898 and 1912 ? transferred between kings as gifts, deeded between colonial companies and governments, all without Cree knowledge or consent, says Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come in the introduction to the study.

Now, Quebec, threatens to do it again.