Recognition of native rights in Northern Quebec: Settlement of comprehensive claims, constitutional protection and economic development

Abstract

In order to allow for hydro development in Northern Quebec, it was necessary for the federal and provincial governments to negotiate conditions of settlement with the tree and Inuit people. These negotiations resulted in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in 1975. A process to define aboriginal rights was established when the Canadian Constitution was repatriated in 1981–1982. In 1983, the Constitution was amended to recognize, among other things, rights or free ‐doms acquired by way of land claims agreements, as well as existing aboriginal and treaty rights. However, after a series of constitutional meetings, participants did not agree on an amendment to entrench the right to self‐government. In the context of future development and actual practices, the exercise of rights is also extremely crucial; and, indeed, it is only through practice that those rights can be measured.