Exclusive Interview with Grand Chief Dr. Abel Bosum - page 13

Indigenous Peoples.
We have vastly improved the living
conditions in our communities partic-
ularly with respect to basic commu-
nity infrastructure such as water and
sewer systems, although adequate
housing stock remains a major con-
cern. There has been a significant im-
provement in the standard of living in
all our Cree communities with respect
to employment and incomes levels.
We have secured an acknowledgment
that any resource development within
the traditional territory must involve
the Cree community. We have suc-
cessfully negotiated a revenue-shar-
ing arrangement based on the value
of resources extracted from Cree tra-
ditional territory. There has been a
major transfer of funding by the fed-
eral government to the Cree Nation
Government to fulfill previously feder-
al obligations. We have secured Cree
control over health and social services
as well as Cree control over education.
We have negotiated an enhanced
governance regime with respect to
the entire Cree traditional territory
with important land use and planning
powers held by the Cree First Nations
and similar powers held by a unique
regional government comprised of
representatives of both Cree and non-
Indigenous communities. And, along
the way, we have developed explicit
Nation-to-Nation relationship in all
major agreements with both Quebec
and Canada, and we have negotiated
the elimination of the Indian Act and
replaced it with new self-government
legislation in which local governments
Justice facility Cree Nation Government
MAY 2018
H
business elite canada
13
1...,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 14,15,16,17,18
Powered by FlippingBook