On the bench

Though he might not be a household name in Eeoyu Istchee, Robert Mainville worked as a lawyer for the Cree Regional Authority for over 30 years. On August 27, his lifetime of fighting for the rights of Aboriginal peoples was rewarded with a federal court judgeship.

Mainville began working for the Crees during the late ’70s, not long after he was admitted to the Quebec bar association in 1976.

In his address to the public who attended his federal court inauguration in Montreal, Mainville reflected upon what it was like working for the Crees when he began.

“When I first started to represent the Cree, their communities were in very bad condition with substandard housing and sanitization facilities. The living conditions were difficult and people were dirt poor.

“But the spirit of the Cree Nation was incredibly strong. The Cree of Eeyou Istchee are one of the few Aboriginal groups in Canada who have maintained a strong political unity.

“This unity, coupled with the unbeatable spirit of the Cree people and good leadership has allowed the Cree Nation to reach great achievements. The Cree Nation is now quite prosperous, its communities are vibrant and its political prowess strong.

“I am proud to be closely associated with the Cree for whom I acted as legal council for over 30 years,” said Mainville.

Over the course of his 33 years in service to the Canadian legal system Mainville was an associate at O’Reilly Mainville from 1989 to 1992. He was then a partner at Mainville and Associates from 1992 to 2002 and an associate and then partner at Gowling Lafleur Henderson from 2002 to 2009.

In his many years in the legal field, Mainville has developed an expertise in Aboriginal law, industrial relations, commercial law, civil law, constitutional and administrative law. During his inauguration, his colleagues, particularly Micheline Van Erum, on behalf of Robert Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, spoke in praise of his contributions to Aboriginal peoples, their rights and improving their quality of life.

Mainville likened his relationship with the Crees as the type of relationship that stems from being comrades-in-arms. He said that proudest achievements as a lawyer were carried out for the Cree Nation.

Working with all the Grand Chiefs of the Cree Nation was also a point of pride for Mainville, who acknowledged each of them – Billy Diamond, Matthew Coon Come, Ted Moses and Matthew Mukash – in his inaugural speech.

“They have each, in their own particular ways, contributed to the advancement of the Cree Nation and Aboriginal rights and interests across Canada and internationally. In particular, the work of the Cree internationally leading to the recently adopted United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, an achievement that the Grand Council of the Crees did much to ensure will be an adjourned testament to the contribution of the Cree people and its leadership and the cause of Indigenous peoples throughout the world,” said Mainville.

Not only did Mainville work with the Crees in the early days of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, he also contributed significantly to the Cree Nation’s first opposition movement, the fight against the Great Whale project.

He addressed the fact that few believed that it would be possible to stop such a massive development at the very heart at the political and economic leadership of the then Quebec government. The fact that it was halted was unprecedented as never before had a major development project been stopped based on social consideration associated with Aboriginal peoples.

Years later when the Quebec government decided to renew its relationship with the Crees, Mainville said that he had the good fortune of being the lead counsel on this matter and in negotiating the agreement now known as the Paix des Braves. He expressed his sense of deep pride in playing the role that he did in the Paix des Braves development.

In the end, he credited his long standing relationship with the Crees as an enormous part of his development as legal counsel saying that what he has taken from it will help him to render decisions and uphold the law as he embarks on his new career.

Though many Crees and members of the legal community crowded the federal courthouse for the swearing in ceremony, none could be more proud than his mother, Marie Willik.

“I am very, very proud that he has become a judge and I am sure he is well appointed because he is a very, very intelligent person. He inherited not only a photographic memory but also a thinking mind. When he was a child he skipped grades at school and the principal said he was very gifted,” said Willik.