Creating Cree Corp. makes perfect sense
When Cree Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come visited l aw firm Lavery LLP’S offices recently for a packed encounter with local mining entrepreneurs, his talk began with the up-close and personal.
“I am a son of a hunter, a fisher and a trapper,” said Coon Come, 56, the head of the Grand Council of the Crees, the political body representing Quebec Cree.
“My dad lived on the land and so did my mother. I am a father to five children. I have three daughters and two sons. I am a husband to Mary Ann Coon Come. We have been married for 35 years and I am also a grandfather to two children.”
With that informality out of the way, which he later said is essential to relationship building with the Cree, Coon Come proceeded to enthrall those in attendance as he explained the aboriginal perspective on Quebec’s Plan Nord.
Most of the major l aw firms operating in Montreal and Quebec City have formed dedicated Plan Nord teams.
Lavery thought it useful to present the view of those who live on or near prospective development lands, explained senior Lavery lawyer Gérard Coulombe. It’s big business for all concerned, including the Cree, given that an estimated one-third of projects in the Plan Nord are planned for Cree territory. Overall, up to $6 billion in investments have already been announced as part of the total $80 billion development plan over the next 25 years.
“There is scarcely not a month that goes by without another project being announced,” said Coon Come, a veteran negotiator and politician trained in both law and philosophy.
He pointed out that in the last two years, about 300 junior mining companies have been active in the territory and major agreements have been signed with the Cree by companies like Goldcorp Inc. – for development of the Éléonore gold project near the community of Wemindji–and Stornoway Diamond Corp. – for its Renard diamond project near Mistassini.
Increasingly, the way to go is for companies to sign impact and benefit agreements, private law contracts forged with First Nations that ensure communities receive financial benefits from development of mineral resources on or near their communities, and that adverse effects on residents or the environment are addressed. While such collaborative agreements are not obligatory, Coon Come would like to see them legislated.
It’s one of the points he’s raising in talks with the Quebec government aimed at forging a new agreement – following the signing of a framework agreement almost a year ago – for the creation of a public regional government for the territory.
A proposed new regional government would give the Cree direct representation along with others over how about 80 per cent of the land is used, and greater jurisdiction for land-and-resource-use planning on another 15 per cent of land where native people have the exclusive right to hunt and fish.
“For the Cree, partnership is not just about business,” Coon Come said. “Just as important is partnership in governance and I have repeatedly said that economic development and governance are closely linked. Without the right governance structures, there can be no lasting economic development.”
Coon Come said the legal drafting is completed – all that is needed is a government order-in-council – for another important economic development vehicle, the Cree Development Corp., that will work as an investment arm of the Crees and be able to use money to invest in projects.