MONTREAL – A struggle over indigenous rights will make its way from Quebec’s wilderness to the streets of Montreal on Wednesday.
For the last two weeks, about 60 Algonquins in the northern community of Barriere Lake have camped out near a logging site on their reserve to protest against a forestry operation on the grounds of a traditional moose habitat.
While the demonstration has remained peaceful, the Sûreté du Québec maintains a sizable presence in the densely wooded area, with as many as 60 officers stationed around the logging camp – run by Resolute Forest Products.
Reports also indicate the SQ has been escorting employees of the forestry company onto the disputed work site.
On Wednesday, hundreds of local activists and supporters are expected to clang pots and pans outside of Resolute’s Duke St. headquarters in Montreal during a solidarity “casseroles” protest.
“It’s been an emotional week for many of the families here, who saw their land and their traditional hunting ground destroyed,” Norman Matchewan, one of the camp’s leaders, said Tuesday from Barriere Lake, about 300 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
“It’s good to see some support outside of our territory.”
The protesters say Resolute began cutting down trees in the habitat without consulting the Algonquin community, which violates a long-standing agreement between the band, the federal and provincial governments to co-manage the reserve’s natural resources.
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Resolute officials deny the accusation and say they have the authorization of Barriere Lake’s band council – highlighting a major schism within the impoverished community.
The Algonquins of Barriere Lake are strongly opposed to the elected band council system.
The federal government imposed an election on the 75-acre reserve in 2010, but they were met with fierce resistance from locals, who have chosen their chiefs through a traditional process since the reserve was created in 1961.
In the end, no one voted in the election, resulting in the acclamation of a grand chief and four councillors to govern the reserve.
“They’re not a legitimate band council in any sense of the word,” said former councillor Casey Reit, who resigned in protest after the failed election. “It’s clear no one recognizes the council, and three out of four chiefs don’t even live on reserve.”
Reit says it doesn’t matter if Resolute is cutting with the authorization of band council because the council isn’t truly representative of Barriere Lake and it never consulted with the 550 Algonquins living on the reserve.
Resolute spokesperson Pierre Choquette says the company is caught in the middle of a difficult political situation.
“We consulted with the band council, who have a responsibility to consult with their constituents,” Choquette said.
“We’re operating with permits issued to us by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Wilfdlife.”
With teams of hunters gathering fish and game from the surrounding forest, and despite the heat and mosquitoes, Reit says he feels confident the camp can dig its heels in the ground for some time.
The Algonquins hope Wednesday’s protest can bring more momentum to their cause.
“We’ve been pushed into a corner, but we know we have no other choice now,” Reit said. “We hope that hundreds turn out to the protest in Montreal tomorrow to show some support for us.”
But Matchewan pointed out that the struggle in Barriere Lake is about much more than losing a traditional hunting ground – it’s about a people who feel marginalized by their government and who live in a town where nearly 90 per cent are unemployed, he said.
“Too many of us live in overcrowded shacks, we live in houses with terrible mould problems that have to be heated because our heaters aren’t reliable enough to keep us out of the cold,” Matchewan said.
“We don’t see a penny of the revenue generated from the hydroelectric dams on our land or the logging in our moose yard, and that’s a crime.”
With the reserve’s finances tied up by a third-party manager, there’s no money available for the Algonquins to take their claim to court.
The Coalition large de l’Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante has voiced their support for the cause and will take part in the demonstrations Wednesday in solidarity.
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