Petapan Treaty: Innu accuse Quebec of bad faith on agreement talks

Canada's former minister of Crown-Indigenous relations and minister of Indigenous servicesPetapan Treaty Marc Miller with Chefs Réal Tettaut (Nutashkuan), Martin Dufour (Essipit) and Gilbert Dominique (Pekuakamiulnuatsh). (LA PRESSE CANADIENNE/Sean Kilpatrick)

Three Innu communities in Quebec are accusing the provincial government of acting in bad faith a year after the deadline passed to conclude a treaty that has been under negotiation for more than 40 years.

The chiefs of Essipit, Pekuakamiulnuatsh, and Nutashkuan say the Quebec government reneged on a commitment to finalize the Petapan Treaty before the deadline set for March 31, 2023.

A year later the chiefs, who represent about 12,000 people in the North Shore and Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean regions, are calling for a meeting with Premier Francois Legault and say they are "very seriously" considering legal action.

The Petapan Treaty, between the Innu First Nations, Quebec and Ottawa, would exempt the three communities from the federal Indian Act and recognize their right to self-determination and their ancestral rights.

The Innu nations reached a deal with Ottawa before the March 2023 deadline, but talks with Quebec are ongoing.

Legault's office could not immediately be reached for comment.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published on April 1, 2024.