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6 N.Y. Int'l L. Rev. 1 (1993)
Status and Rights of the James Bay Crees in the Context of Quebec's Secession from Canada

handle is hein.journals/nwykinllw6 and id is 5 raw text is: STATUS AND RIGHTS OF THE JAMES BAY CREES IN THE CONTEXT OF QUEBEC'S SECESSION FROM CANADA* Introduction This Submission from the Grand Council of the Crees (of Quebec), or as we say in Cree, Weenbacooch Noche- meweoch Ahnadamadooch (Quebec), is specifically ad- dressed to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The message we bring relating to Cree self- determination and its current denial is intended for all members of the international community. The James Bay Cree people (Eenouch) are com- prised of the Nemaska, Mistissini, Ouje-Bougoumou, Waswanipi, Waskaganish, Whapmagoostui, Chisasibi, Wemindji and Eastmain communities of James Bay, Can- ada. The Cree Nation includes over 12,000 aboriginal people of Cree ancestry, an organized society that has used and occupied the James Bay and Hudson Bay area for thousands of years, without harming or despoiling our northern environment. We, the James Bay Cree people (Eenouch), have our own culture, laws, language and economy. The Cree po- sition as expressed in this Submission is founded in Cree culture and law. Presently, Canada, as a federation,1 is in a constitu- tional crisis. It has been indicated by the government of '.he province of Quebec that, if its constitutional demands are not satisfied in a matter of months, a province-wide referendum will be held in 1992 that could lead to Quebec acquiring the status of a sovereign state. In this regard, section 1 of An Act Respecting the Process for Determin- ing the Political and Constitutional Future of Quebec (Bill 150),2 expressly provides: The Gouvernement du Quebec shall hold a refer- endum on the sovereignty of Quebec between 8 June and 22 June 1992 or between 12 October and 26 October 1992. . . . If the results of the referendum are in favour of sovereignty, they shall constitute a proposal that Quebec acquire the status of a sovereign State one year to the day from the holding of the referendum.3 The seriousness of the current situation in Canada has been emphasized by Canada's Constitutional Affairs Minister Joe Clark as recently as January 17, 1992, when he warned that the country was in dire straits: I cannot remember a time in which I felt the coun- try was more in danger of coming apart, not ex- ploding dramatically, but drifting inexorably apart.4 The James Bay Cree people (Eenouch) are not ex- pressing the will to secede from Canada or Quebec. Rather we are striving to join Canada and Quebec in a manner that fully respects the principles of equality and mutual respect. We seek to improve our relations and strengthen our links with both Quebec and Canada. How- ever, should Quebec take steps to accede to indepen- dence, we (and other aboriginal peoples in Quebec) must not be prevented from asserting our rights and making basic choices. *Submitted by the Grand Council of the Crees (of Quebec), a corporation of the James Bay Cree Nation (Eeyouch) and a non-governmental organization in consultative status (roster) to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Forty-Eighth Session, 27 January - 6 March 1992. The principal author of the Submission was Paul Joffe. Mr. Joffe was assisted by Andrew J. Orkin and William S. Grodinsky. The following is an abridgment of the original Submission which was submitted to the Commission on Human Rights. The full Submission may be obtained from: William S. Grodinsky Suite 3900 1 Place Ville Marie Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3B 4M7 1. CAN. CONST. (Constitution Act, 1982) pt. 1 (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms). 2. See Act of June 20, 1991, ch. 34, 1991 S.Q. 667 (Can.) [hereinafter Bill 150] (emphasis added) (act respecting process for determining political and constitutional future of Quebec). 3. Id. at 671. Note: In fact, a referendum was held on October 26, 1992 in Quebec and Canada dealing not with the issue of sovereignty, but the approval of recommendations for constitutional changes contained in the Charlottetown Accord. It was defeated. The official opposition party in Quebec, the Parti Qudbdcois (a sovereignist party) has, however, respected its commitment to Quebec's sovereignty. See Clyde H. Farnsworth, The Canadian Impasse - In a Vote on Union, the Opposites Attracted, and Premier's Unpopularity Hurt His Plan, N.Y. TIMES, Oct. 28, 1992, at Al. 4. See Delacourt & Fraser, Clark Issues Dire Warning on Unity: Minister Says He Can't Recall When Country in More Danger of Coming Apart, GLOBE AND MAIL (Toronto), Jan. 18, 1992, at Al (emphasis added). New York International Law Review 1 Vol. 6, No. 1 (Winter 1993) NYSBA