After the apology, Indigenous groups seek firm commitments from Quebec government

There was optimism last fall when Quebec Premier François Legault stood before the National Assembly, turned to First Nations and Inuit leaders in the gallery and apologized for the province's mistreatment of Indigenous people.

The apology was the first recommendation in a report prepared by retired Quebec Superior Court justice Jacques Viens.

The report — the result of nine months' testimony about decades of abuse, mistreatment and neglect — concluded that Indigenous people in Quebec are victims of "systemic discrimination" when it comes to accessing public services.

It laid out 142 recommendations for the province regarding policing, social services, corrections, justice, youth protection, and health and social services.

Legault promised to closely examine those recommendations and act swiftly to improve the relationship between the province and Indigenous communities.

Since then, things have not gone as well.

Legault a no-show

Legault didn't show up to the first meeting with Indigenous leaders last October. His absence prompted questions about the government's level of commitment to a "nation-to-nation" relationship.

He isn't planning to attend the follow up, scheduled for Monday, either.

"It's really disappointing," Lac Simon Chief Adrienne Jérôme said last week.

Legault's minister of Indigenous affairs, Sylvie D'Amours, who was on vacation for most of January, will be there in his stead.

Legault told reporters he has "full confidence" in D'Amours.

"Obviously, during the year I will meet the Indigenous communities, but I cannot go to all the meetings," he told reporters.

Ghislain Picard, the regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations for Quebec and Labrador, said Friday he wants Indigenous leaders to "be bold" and "take the lead on matter and, hopefully, get a positive response from Quebec."

"As we've said many times before, an apology is something, but it's got to be supported by proper actions by the government."

Monday's meeting, to be held behind closed doors, is scheduled to run all day in Montreal.

On the agenda are both the Viens commission recommendations and those of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

D'Amours said prior to the meeting she doesn't want the two reports to "gather dust" and improving relations with Indigenous communities is of "great importance."

But other concerns have emerged since Legault committed to looking closely at the recommendations of the Viens report.

'Shameful' challenge to child welfare reform

The Coalition Avenir Québec government upset First Nations leaders when it announced, right before the Christmas break, that it would ask the province's Court of Appeal to rule on the constitutionality of a new federal law governing Indigenous child welfare.

The federal legislation, which went into effect Jan. 1, allows Indigenous groups to take over their own child welfare systems and prioritizes the placement of Indigenous children in care with members of their own extended families and Indigenous communities.

Picard called the decision to challenge the long-awaited federal law "shameful" and "unacceptable."

"Defending its so-called jurisdiction is one thing, but doing it on the back of our children is another," he said at the time.

"The Legault government is well aware that the current child welfare system does not work for First Nations children."

The challenge remains before the courts.

Environmental questions

The government also angered Indigenous groups with its policies aimed at boosting the province's forestry industry.

In early December, the government announced it was opening up 46,000 hectares of old-growth forest near Saguenay to logging activities.

The land — composed of three different areas — had been set aside to protect Quebec's declining caribou population.

Forestry Minister Pierre Dufour told reporters that it was too expensive for the government to protect small herds.

The Anishinabe Nation of Lac Simon, which has been pushing for stronger caribou preservation efforts, accused the government of trampling on their ancestral rights.

"The minister is deliberately ignoring the rights of Indigenous people to self-determination … which is recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People," the nation said in a statement at the time.

Ahead of Monday's meeting, Picard said adopting the UN declarion would be a strong indication that the province takes seriously its commitment to improving relations.