MONTREAL (CP) - Decades of stop-and-start negotiations between Ottawa and the Quebec Cree ended Monday with the unveiling of a $1.4-billion agreement to launch the northern First Nation toward self-government.
The deal reaches back to settle billions of dollars in lawsuits and puts into action a 1975 treaty between the two sides that stalled shortly after it was signed. The agreement running through 2027 will give the Cree control over millions of dollars to improve local services ranging from sewers and roads to economic development projects and policing. Much of the work is expected to start in the next five to 10 years.
Longtime Cree leader and former grand chief Billy Diamond, who signed the original 1975 treaty with then-Indian affairs minister Jean Chretien, lauded the deal to finally put those words into action.
“It beats blocking roads and railroads,” Diamond said shortly after the announcement.
“You don’t have to block railroads. You stay at the negotiating table. This is the only way you can deal with government right now.”
(EDIT: Now that they’ve seen what you’re willing to do if they don’t make a deal, negotiation works)
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