Many Indigenous groups brought their voices to the largest ever climate gathering, COP28, which was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 30 to December 12. About 84,000 people were registered for the annual Conference of the Parties (COP), nearly triple last year’s numbers.
November 15 marked the 50th anniversary of the Malouf decision, which recognized existing Cree and Inuit rights in northern Quebec. It was the first explicit judicial recognition of Indigenous rights in Canadian history.
Three years after the death of Atikamekw mother Joyce Echaquan, First Nations groups are critical of Quebec’s Bill 32, which aims to respond to Indigenous inequality by creating a “cultural safety approach” in the province’s health network.
Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty linked land rights and climate change during a speech to the United Nations advisory session on Indigenous rights. Gull-Masty asked the committee to study resource restitution, using an environmental context.
Changes may soon be coming to the Cree constitution, which was enacted alongside a governance agreement with Canada in 2017 to advance Cree self-determination in Eeyou Istchee.
On May 29, Moose Cree First Nation served its legal defence against claims made by the Grand Council of Crees of Quebec (“GCC”) in a lawsuit filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2016. The GCC is seeking recognition of the Cree Nation’s Aboriginal title and rights over certain lands located in Ontario, as well as $495 million in damages for alleged past breaches of rights.
The Cree Nation played a prominent role at this year’s United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). The theme at the largest global gathering of Indigenous leaders, which began April 17, was a rights-based approach to human health, planetary and territorial health, and climate change.
In 2021, Federal Court approved a class-action settlement between Canada and several First Nations that were subject to long-term drinking water advisories from 1995 to 2021. Now, settlement negotiators have extended the deadline for First Nations to submit a claim until March 7.
A CBC investigation disproving Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s claims of Indigenous descent is stirring controversy about the extent of Indigenous identity fraud in the highest levels of Canadian legal, political and academic institutions.
