The forest fires of 2023 were devastating to trappers and hunters, who lost equipment and cabins to the infernos that spread throughout Eeyou Istchee.
The Cree Trappers’ Association and Cree Nation Government worked hard to inventory burnt cabins for each community – not only to assess damages, but to design a reconstruction plan. Preliminary information revealed that few cabins were properly insured, and that trappers would need financial help to rebuild the cabins they lost.
Partners on the land also witnessed the devastation. Normand Champigny, Chief Executive Officer of Quebec Precious Metals Corporation, a gold and lithium exploration company in the territory, saw it firsthand.
“In the fall of 2023, I flew for over 30 minutes by helicopter in the Wemindji and Eastmain areas and all I could see was burnt land and burnt cabins. The devastation was impressive, and extensive, and it struck me that we as partners and guests on the land had to do something,” Champigny told the recent Québec Mines + Énergie meeting in Quebec City.
With Jacynthe Lafond, external relations coordinator of Newmont Eleonore, the two are launching an ambitious fundraising initiative from companies operating in Eeyou Istchee to help speed reconstruction of destroyed cabins.
The Reconstruction Initiative Forest Fires Fund (RIFFF) started as a modest way for mining companies to contribute to the effort, but the support has exceeded expectations.
“Almost everyone I spoke to agreed there was a need to help Cree hunters on the land. It was an easy sell from there to get their company involved,” said Champigny.
Newmont Éléonore immediately set the tone with a $50,000 contribution to the fund.
“When you work in Eeyou Istchee, you develop a sense of pride, even a sense of community,” explained Lafond. “We see hunters on the land all the time, so we could understand how difficult it would be to see the land and the cabins burnt. We could not stand aside – we had to help.”
Before long, added Champigny, several companies willing to help, but they needed an independent administrator.
“After speaking with various Cree in Eeyou Istchee, we asked the Cree Hunters Economic Security Board [CHESB], an organization with a solid reputation, to administer the monies that would be raised,” he said.
At a meeting in Montreal, Champigny explained the initiative to CHESB representatives. At their board meeting the same day, CHESB members unanimously passed a motion to be the fund’s independent administrator and to inject $400,000 into the effort.
The RIFFF is a partnership between the CHESB,the mining industry and the Eeyou Istchee communities. Starting in 2025, the fund will help pay for the reconstruction of burnt cabins and complement the work underway by the CRA on the most impacted traplines. The CRA has been dealing with the issue ever since the fires started, and although they were able to gather some funds, the needs are larger than the resources, and without cabins, hunters cannot occupy the land.
Allan House, Chief Financial Officer at the CRA, stated, “Eeyou culture and language are strongly connected when our people are out on the land of Eeyou Istchee. Having a place/home in the heart of Eeyou Istchee is an essential need for our people. Our hunting grounds are our home.”
According to the information collected by the CNG’s Forestry Department, 11% of the land and nearly 60% of the traplines were affected by the fires.
“I am delighted that the CHESB and so many companies have agreed to contribute to this initiative,” said Champigny. “We hope that many other organizations will contribute.”
Currently, the CHESB has $400,000 to fund rebuilding efforts and provide administrative support. From the industry side, Newmont Éléonore will contribute $50,000 and another 16 other companies have each pledged $20,000, for a total so far of $770,000.