the recognition of Indigenous rights
will be translated into concrete ben-
efits for Indigenous communities will
perhaps look a bit different from loca-
tion to location. But the essence of
our experiences in northern Quebec
can be replicated elsewhere. Indig-
enous rights are real and they can be
expressed in tangible ways that will
improve the lives of our people in their
communities, while at the same time,
creating a spirit and an atmosphere
of harmony, all of which far outweighs
the costs of doing nothing.
What we have done in northern Que-
bec is to find that right mix of Indig-
enous rights, governance and devel-
opment which has proven to lead to
a significant lessening of adversarial
confrontations in the context of de-
velopment projects, to an increased
partnerships and harmony in our re-
gion, to an improvement in the lives of
our people, and to much better rela-
tions with governments.
BEC: What advice would you offer to
both Governments and Indigenous
communities?
GC:
To governments, I would say
that Canadians, largely as a result of
the Truth and Reconciliation Report,
are ready for a new paradigm in their
relationship with Indigenous peoples.
They have finally begun, throughmany
civil society forums, to have the kinds
of dialogues with Indigenous peoples
that would lead to support for a radi-
MAY 2018
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