Bouchard shelves Bill 99 for the time being

MONTREAL — Last week, aboriginal people in Quebec won a small round in their ongoing struggle against supporters of Quebec sovereignty.

Even as Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard was flogging the notion of another referendum on sovereignty and an independent Quebec during a recent visit with French president Jacques Chirac in Paris, his government has now backed off on its highly-touted Bill 99.

Called a “charter of collective rights” by Bouchard, Bill 99 asserted the right of the “Quebec people” rather than the federal government, to decide on Quebec’s future.

The bill was Quebec’s response to the federal government’s Clarity Bill, or Bill 20, which attempted to define the rules under which Quebec could secede from Canada.

Under the Chrétien government’s Bill 20, Quebec would only be able to secede after a clear question on separation that received a clear majority in favour of the idea.

During legislative hearings on Bill 99, aboriginal leaders in Quebec condemned the proposed law for its lack of any specific reference to aboriginal peoples and their own right to self-determination.

The Grand Council of Crees, which represents the James Bay Cree, were particularly scathing in their description of Bill 99.

“Bill 99 violates the principles of democracy, federalism, rules of law and protection of aboriginal and treaty rights,” said Ted Moses, the Grand Chief of the James Bay Cree.

“It runs roughshod over our human right to self-determination. It seeks to consolidate absolute power in Quebec’s political institutions. Ultimately, its illegitimacy even exceeds its rampant illegality.”

The Cree were scornful of Bill 99’s references to a “fictitious Quebec people” that would have the sole voice in a referendum on sovereignty.

A referendum held by this “peuple québécois” would be the only valid one, although the Cree and Inuit in Quebec held their own referendums on this issue in 1995 which rejected the sovereignist option by an overwhelming majority.

“Whenever the terms of secession affect the Inuit, their consent will be required,” the Makivik Corporation said in its brief at the Bill 99 hearings.

Cree fear Nunavik accord

In their brief on Bill 99, the Cree also expressed concern about the Quebec government decree that authorizes their signing of the Nunavik Accord and their participation in the Nunavik Commission.

The brief said this order-in-council ties Nunavik to Quebec by its official recognition of the province’s present borders and powers of Quebec’s National Assembly.

The Cree say that Quebec might use any apparent acceptance of its existing borders and its elected national assembly to win international support for secession.

The Cree brief suggested Quebec might also use it to legislate the use of force in resisting native communities.

According to the Quebec Liberal Party’s native affairs critic, Geoff Kelley, Bill 99 may be shelved temporarily.

But Kelley also said Premier Bouchard is seeking support from the Parti Québécois at their convention in May, so he may revive Bill 99 with amendments to help bolster his leadership.