Bill 16 has been tabled - The Québec government is following up on its commitments to the Cree Nation and the community of Oujé-Bougoumou

QUÉBEC CITY, Dec. 10, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - To give concrete expression to the gestures that the Cree Nation is awaiting and to formalize the obligations in the agreements concluded with it, Minister Responsible for Indigenous Affairs Ian Lafrenière today tabled Bill 16. Among other things, it will afford the community of Oujé-Bougoumou the same official recognition in the corpus of legislation as the eight other Cree communities. The bill amends legislative provisions in order to implement supplementary conventions No. 22 and No. 27 to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.

To this end, the bill amends various statutes so that the Cree of Oujé-Bougoumou are expressly recognized therein as a Cree community benefiting from the same rights as the other Cree communities. Other amendments concern the Act respecting the Cree Hunters and Trappers Income Security Board and will reflect the changes made to the Income Security Program for Cree Hunters and Trappers stipulated in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, which is now the Cree Hunters Economic Security Program.

"This bill will enable the community of Oujé-Bougoumou to pursue its socioeconomic development and obtain official recognition, which is of significant symbolic importance. It is my hope that the Québec government's gesture will contribute to maintaining a strong collaborative bond between it and the Cree Nation and that the community of Oujé-Bougoumou will quickly benefit from the positive spinoff that the bill tabled today offers."

Ian Lafrenière, Minister Responsible for Indigenous Affairs

SOURCE Cabinet du ministre responsable des Affaires autochtones

Source: Mathieu Durocher, Press Officer, Office of the Minister Responsible for Indigenous Affairs, Telephone: [phone]; Information: Antoine Tousignant, Public Affairs Team Leader, Ministère du Conseil exécutif and Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor, Telephone: [phone], [email protected]