Young cries firmly opposed to development in their territory

If First Nations chiefs are shared on the question of development, for young cries of northern Ontario, there is no doubt: priority is to protect the environment.

About twenty of them came to demonstrate against the Canadian Museum in History in Ottawa, during the summit between the Prime Minister Mark Carney and the heads of the First Nations. Angry against the governments of Canada and Ontario, they wanted to express their opposition to the Federal and Ontario laws which aim to accelerate the realization of major infrastructure projects on the bass lands of Hudson and James Bay.

Worried about the future of the land, water, fauna and flora in this territory they see the ancestral guards, they chanted: Honor our treaties et Abrogate Law C-5.

Bill C-5 allows the federal government to quickly authorize projects deemed of national interest, such as mines, ports or pipelines, by circumventing certain existing laws. As for Ontario law, it authorizes the creation of special economic zones where provincial and municipal laws can be suspended by decree.

Oppose this Consultation of Make is not a choice, it is a responsibility for the generations to comeexplains Jeronimo Kataquapit, 20, one of the leaders of the movement.

When someone enters you, you don’t stay there to look at him do what he wants. You do everything you can protect yourself.

JERONIMO KATAQUAPIT is one of the leaders of the movement Here We Stand (We are here standing).

Attawapiskat’s young Mushkegowuk Videaster has traveled around 400 km in a canoeing on the Attawapiskat river to draw attention to the development planned in this region. He now camps with his family and representatives of the first neskantaga nation near the fire circle, a territory of around 5000 km²rich in minerals.

Mushkegowuk are, in the Algonquian language, the people of the water, those who live in the muskegthe peat bog that covers the Basse-Terre of Hudson’s Bay.

Their territory is in the region covered by Treaty No. 9, which covers the watersheds of the Baie James and the Bay of Hudson, in Ontario.

This is where it will happenexplains Jeronimo Kataquapit. This is where they will infiltrate our homes and in our territories. This is where the earth will be destroyed, that it will be bleeding white. This is where the rivers will be destroyed.

The campers received the support of the council of Mushkegowuk chiefs, which brings together seven First Nations in northeast Ontario. The council adopted a resolution on July 16 to designate the circle of fire as Protected land on which no development, project or activities related to development can be undertaken without the prior, free and enlightened consent of the nations which could be affected.

This region has a single ecological value, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada. It is part of the largest intact boreal forest in the world and the peat bogs that make it up to store billions of tonnes of carbon. It is also the habitat of several species in danger such as caribou, carcajou and yellow sturgeon.

Young people at barricades

The message of young Cris is addressed to the government, but also to their leaders who, according to them, are not aware of the magnitude of the issues.

The problem is that there are only adults who are invited to the topexplains Keisha Paulmartin, 15, from Kashechewan. They should know that we are young, we do not approve of [ce qu’ils veulent faire].

They cannot say that young people agree, because no, we do not agree.

It is out of the question for them to give in to companies without fighting.

The earth is the spirit of our peopleexplains another protester, Ramon Kataapit. This is where we come, this is where we find our resources and that is what we must protect for the future of young people.

When you start to open Pandora’s box, you don’t have to be a genius to find out what consequences await us.

They want to preserve it for future generations.

It is one of the largest virgin lands that can be found on the planetadd Jeronimo Kataquapit. This is our home. So what is at stake is not only the minerals in the ground, but all that we are today and the direction that our people wishes to take for the next hundred years.

Young people are not the only ones to oppose laws 5 and C-5. Nine First Nations of Ontario asked the province’s Superior Court of Justice to declare the two laws unconstitutional, on the grounds that they both represent a Clear and present danger For First Nations law for self -determination regarding their lifestyles in their territories.

With Canadian press information