Candidates for Ungava riding speak about where they stand on the issues
After months of talk about the Parti Québécois’ controversial Charter of Values, job losses in a declining economy, a possible referendum, mass corruption at the Charbonneau Commission and more finger-pointing than a summer at the playground, it is almost time for Quebec to vote.
Up north however, it is a completely different world for voters in Quebec’s largest riding where the needs of the Cree, Inuit, Jamesiens and everyone else in this riding can only be addressed by one of their own.
For the upcoming April 7 vote, incumbent Luc Ferland will be running for the Parti Québécois (PQ) against Jean Boucher for the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP), André Richer for Québec Solidaire (QS) and Michael Cameron for the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ).
The Nation asked each candidate seven questions about what their respective party had to offer northern voters and why they were the best candidate for the Ungava riding.
The questions:
1) What is your background and why does this make you the ideal candidate for the Ungava region?
2) Why the Parti Québécois, Liberal Party, CAQ or Québec Solidaire now?
3) What is your opinion on the current referendum talk?
4) What do you and your party have to offer specifically to Aboriginal voters?
5) What do you think is the biggest issue in this election?
6) What is your plan to stimulate the economy?
7) These are racially, culturally and linguistically charged times, do you have a plan for peace among the people?
The responses to each of these questions will appear numbered under the section for each candidate. Please not that the answers below have been edited to fit the space available.
Michael Cameron, CAQ
1) Hailing from Salluit, the northernmost tip of Quebec, Michael Cameron is an Inuk who has spent much of his life working in various political capacities, including as mayor, municipal councillor and as an executive member of the Kativik Regional Government. He also keeps up his duties as chief of his volunteer fire department and being a certified first responder while maintaining a part-time job with Bell Canada.
The 42-year-old father of five and grandfather of four may not have been planning to enter provincial politics a few months ago, but he feels that this is the right time for it as his previous political experience and new-found passion for the party has him feeling that he is the right person for Ungava.
2) It was the CAQ that approached Cameron to run while shopping around for a candidate in the region. Having previously met party leader François Legault, Cameron said his interest was piqued because Legault had worked with the separatist PQ before being the head of the nationalist CAQ.
“After I learned more about them and how they are a nationalist party that wants to work with Canada and with people of every ethnicity and nationality through transparency. As this is something I truly believe in, I decided it was okay,” said Cameron.
Cameron said he was thrilled when CAQ decided that he was the right fit. “I am also an Anglican and I believe in the Lord and what we do and how the Lord works in mysterious ways and how different doors open when other doors close,” he said.
3) As far as the referendum goes, Cameron addressed the issue simply: “As an Aboriginal person, growing up we were proud to be Canadian,” he said.
“I have had some of our Elders and some of our political leaders, when they found out that I was running for CAQ, tell me to advise Legault that if they ever look to separate, that Nunavik will stay within Canada and that Nunavik will hold its own referendum. We oppose the separation of Quebec.”
4) According to Cameron, the CAQ can offer the region’s First Nations and Inuit voters a government that is transparent. He would also like to focus on education and tax benefits for families.
“We would like to open up 500 new positions for special education staff in the schools as well as a $1500 tax return for a family of four to alleviate the tax burden – so far all of this has been going well,” said Cameron.
5) Cameron said that though there are all sorts of issues on the table, from housing shortages to education, health and long-distance telecommunications, he believes that the environment and mining are big issues for the people in this riding.
“We need to ensure that we are one with the earth and that this is habitable. That the re-growth of certain vegetations, such as the lichen for the caribou, and the other vegetation for the geese is there. I hunt geese as do my sons who go out with me. We are always very worried about our environment and climate change in our region,” said Cameron.
6) While he did not have a specific direction in mind for the economy, Cameron feels he is in a good position to work for the people because of his existing relationships with the Makivik Corporation and that he would talk to the people in Chibougamau and the Cree to find out what he could do for them.
At the same time, he said CAQ policy is not to waste money or go into deficit and this is why transparency is necessary.
“We want to work so that we benefit everybody, not only human beings but also the environment and our animals,” said Cameron.
7) In terms of peace among the people, Cameron was quick to say that as an Inuk, he is used to everyone working together to overcome obstacles.
“We shouldn’t judge other individuals or other cultures on what they wear. We should all be working together and using our strengths together to be as one. We should not be looking at the weaknesses of others or their ignorance; we should be working as a team,” said Cameron.
Luc Ferland, PQ
1) Luc Ferland is the incumbent Parti Québécois MNA for the Ungava region and he is currently looking to be reelected for a fourth mandate.
“I have been a deputy since 2007 and so I am asking for a fourth mandate from the people of northern Quebec,” he said.
2) According to Ferland, the PQ is the right pick for the region because they are the party that has First Nations in Quebec, particularly for the Cree under René Lévesque’s mandate and also when Bernard Landry was in power as he signed the Paix des Braves Agreement.
“Under our government since the last mandate, we adopted Bill 42 which has allowed for the new Regional Government between Eeyou Istchee and James Bay to come into effect. This has happened in the last year and as the deputy for this region, I participated actively in the adoption of this law to see this government come into place,” said Ferland.
3) Ferland was quick to say that this vote isn’t in a referendum campaign; it is an election campaign. As far as the PQ is concerned, he said this election is about issues like economic development, education and health and that PQ “star candidate” Pierre Karl Péladeau would be on hand to help Quebec entrepreneurs get a leg up and take advantage of all Quebec has to offer. He said this is something that applies equally to the Crees.
Ferland said that of course it is evident that the PQ is a sovereignist party. With this said, he insisted that now is not the time for a referendum as people are not ready and were it the case, the Cree would be consulted about it.
“If this is the case, the Cree will no doubt get all of the necessary information on the subject when the time comes. We are not there now and are very, very far away from that at this point in time. Right now we are in the middle of a traditional election,” said Ferland.
4) In terms of the PQ’s offerings for Aboriginal voters, Ferland said he would continue to work to pursue the implementation of the Paix des Braves and see that the Cree participate as much as possible in taking advantage of its provisions and the economic development of the region.
5) Ferland said one of the biggest issues in the region in terms of economic development and the expansion of businesses is that there are very few tradesmen in the region who have received CCQ cards (to become masters of their trades by completing the allotted hours apprenticing under a master) and therefore many were missing out on economic opportunities.
Were he to be reelected, Ferland said he would work on this issue as well as to continue to work with the new regional government in Eeyou Istchee to ensure that there are “harmonious exchanges” between those sitting at the table.
6) In terms of stimulating the economy, Ferland said he would like to see the creation of a secretariat for an alliance between the Cree, the Jamesiens and the Inuit, that would focus on issues like economic development and forging partnerships.
While the PQ also have their Nord Pour Tous plan in place, he said the creation of a secretariat to represent the region would prove to be an ideal forum for exchange between all parties.
7) On the issue of peace among the people, Ferland began to refer immediately to the PQ’s proposed Charter of Values and Bill 60 which would see it come into law.
In terms of the people in his riding, however, he said that the Cree, the Inuit and the First Nations in Quebec as a whole should not be concerned with this law. He says it only concerns new immigrants to Quebec.
When pressed on the issue, as there are people from other nations who have in the past taken work in the north, Ferland made the following statement:
“But these people aren’t new arrivals, when you talk about new arrivals, we are talking about immigrants and we mean people coming in from places like North Africa, South America and Europe. Bill 60 concerns only new immigrants. It does not concern anyone else and Bernard Drainville, Premier Marois and I have said that this project on ensuring that institutions are devoid of religion does not touch First Nations or Inuit in Quebec because Crees and Inuit are not new immigrants.
“So we can say that this whole project on Bill 60 does not touch First Nations in any way and this really does not concern them.”
Jean Boucher, QLP
1) Boucher has spent the last seven years living in Kuujjuaq and he feels that he is well versed in the issues of the people in the north, particularly in Nunavik. At the same time, he said he is a good friend of NDP MP Romeo Saganash and he has learned from him about the Cree nation.
“I think that the last thing that the Cree people need is another referendum on Quebec sovereignty. This is why everyone should be interested in voting on April 7,” said Boucher.
2) Boucher said the Liberal Party should be the choice right now, particularly for the Crees because the party can offer more stability than the PQ whose goal is clearly sovereignty.
“As far as the CAQ goes, I don’t think that they have a real constitutional position. They may be in favour of Quebec separating at one time and then not and I don’t think they are that concerned with First Nations issues,” said Boucher.
Boucher said he comes from a place of understanding because he is married to a Montangais woman and has spent the last 14 years working for Habitat Métis du Nord, an organization that developed social housing for First Nations and Inuit living off reserve.
3) As far as a referendum goes, Boucher said it is all a waste of time because Quebec has so much more to gain from Canada.
“We have been part of Canada since the beginning and even if we were to become an independent country, it wouldn’t solve any problems for Quebecers or Native peoples,” he argued. “Pauline Marois said we will have a referendum when the people of Quebec are ready, but she doesn’t seem to be able to say yes or no as to whether there will be one in the next mandate. Who will decide when Quebec is ready?”
4) In terms of Aboriginal voters, Boucher said a Liberal win would see the return of the Plan Nord but with new enhancements that would see more benefits for the local communities.
It would also see the creation of a new office for this development of the north as well as another government office for business development and opportunities for Natives and non-Natives alike so that small businesses can get a leg up when it comes to contracts.
5) According to Boucher, the biggest issue right now is political stability and the Plan Nord. “People need to work again. We need stability and to know where our government is going.”
6) Naturally, Boucher supports the Liberal Party’s Plan Nord but also said stabilizing the province will have added economic benefits.
7) “The way to peace and tolerance among people is very often by dispelling ignorance,” said Boucher. “Among the Cree, Inuit and non-Aboriginal people, we need to create a climate of exchange and friendship where everybody knows where the other stands and also have an ideal atmosphere for collaboration between people. We are now in 2014, in the third millennium, and there is no place for racism or intolerance today. We all have to live on the same planet and breathe the same air and so we have to find a way to have a good relationship between each other.”
André Richer, QS
1) “I worked and lived in Nunavik from 2001 until 2009 and then I worked part time, travelling throughout Nunavik, working in different communities and so I know the riding well,” said Richer.
2) “For the Cree and the Inuit, we are all about establishing nation-to-nation relations with the Aboriginal peoples and the unrestricted application of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This is something that QS supports,” said Richer.
“It is important for us because QS is a people-oriented party and not money- or business-oriented. We are a progressive party and that means what is important for us is social programs to improve the wellbeing of the people.”
3) Richer said since his party is openly sovereignist. “We would like to build a country that is not against anyone, but with everybody, including the Aboriginal people,” said Richer.
4) As for Aboriginal voters, under the QS, Richer said First Nations and Inuit would have the right to self-determination over their political status and economic, social and cultural development.
“The First Peoples have never renounced their sovereignty either by treaty or otherwise. They continue to affirm their identity as a sovereign people and so Québec Solidaire recognizes the sovereignty of these Peoples. They must freely decide their own future and this is an inherent right. This reality must be recognized and there can not be a policy of two ways and two measures,” said Richer. “The Québécois cannot refuse other peoples what they demand for themselves.”
5) The most important issue in this election for the QS is to see a Quebec that is green, free and just.
According to Richer, his party is about working for a common good and this means a just redistribution of wealth throughout the province. The party is sovereignist, environmentalist, feminist, progressive and globally aware.
“This message is something that can reach everybody,” said Richer.
6) According to Richer, the QS economic plan is to eliminate waste but he chose not to elaborate any further.
7) “Québec Solidaire does not like the ethnocentric part of the Charter of Values. We are for the idea of government being devoid of religion, as we believe that politics and religion must not mix.
“We are for that but we also want to be inclusive and not put aside anyone because of their religion. Our philosophy is to promote freedom of religion but this must not mix with politics. We are however inclusive and we want to include everybody. This is very important if you want to build a country and an independent state. This needs to be done with everybody and this is the most important thing,” said Richer.