20/05/2005 - Mr. David
Smith, MP for Pontiac, today announced $350,000
in investments to be made between now and
2007-2008 for research projects that will
benefit the Cree and Naskapi communities of
Northern Quebec. This funding is being provided
under the Northern Ecosystem Initiative (NEI),
a national program established in 1998 to
promote collaborative action between the scientific
community and Northern residents and to integrate
local, traditional and scientific knowledge.
The Cree Regional Authority will receive
$108,000 to implement a protocol and undertake
a pilot project to collect data on migratory
bird populations, which are very important
for northern communities. It will also receive
$48,000 to inventory and characterize mineral
exploration sites located in Cree territory.
In addition, $75,000 in funding will go to
the Cree Regional Authority for the preparation,
in collaboration with Université Laval’s
northern studies centre, of a natural restoration
plan for disturbed sites in northern villages.
This plan will include an analysis of the
best conditions for natural restoration in
the village of Whapmagoostui and a best practices
guide for community members.
The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, for
its part, has been granted $110,000 to prepare
and implement a communications strategy that
will involve the participation of Elders and
that will focus on inventorying local knowledge
of flora and fauna. This traditional knowledge
will be conserved and shared with future generations
by preparing educational material. In 2004-2005,
the Nation received $6,000 to create an index
for hunters as part of the effort to assess
caribou body condition in the George River
and Leaf River herds.
“These investments will help to promote a
collaborative approach and create favourable
conditions for long-term development—learning,
economic opportunity and modern institutions
of Aboriginal governance,” said MP Smith.
The Northern Ecosystem Initiative is a national
partnership program administered by Environment
Canada. In Quebec, a regional management committee
has developed an environmental action plan
for Northern Quebec. This committee is made
up of Aboriginal representatives, (Cree, Inuit,
Naskapi and Innu) and representatives of governments,
research facilities and Hydro-Québec.
The work of the NEI centres on five priorities:
climate change, contaminants, natural resource
exploitation, monitoring and capacity building.
