Andrew McClelland
The Advocate
The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) issued an urgent call to the United Nations in July on what it describes as ongoing violations of Indigenous rights in Quebec.
Concluding a diplomatic mission at the 18th session of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the First Nations leaders demanded greater international scrutiny of Quebec’s public policy reforms — specifically the way the province wants to manage its forests.
“In Quebec, a reform of the forestry regime is under way, which directly affects our territories, our cultures, and our ways of life — without adequate consultation, without recognition from our governments, and without respect for our knowledge,” AFNQL Chief Francis Verreault-Paul said in a statement.
The AFNQL represents 43 First Nations governments of Quebec and Labrador.
At issue is Quebec’s Bill 97, which would divide Quebec’s forests into three zones: one that prioritizes conservation, one focused on timber production and a third zone for multiple uses.
The bill includes a clause that says that any activity interfering with or restrictingforest development efforts is prohibited — with the exception of Indigenous activities pursued for domestic, ritual or social purposes.
But that clause “in no way guarantees the preservation of the quality of these territories, which are essential to the preservation of their traditional ways of life, cultures and languages,” the AFNQL stated.
In other words, Quebec First Nations communities would be free to use a third of the province’s timber forests, but only after the forestry industry was done, citing concerns over environmental degradation.
“They call it triade in French, meaning 30 per cent of the territory will be specifically used by the industry in exclusion of other users,” Lac-Simon Anishnabe Nation Chief Lucien Wabanonik told the UN gathering. “They exclude everyone else.”
Quebec’s Minister of Natural Resources and Forests Maïté Blanchette Vézina tabled the bill this spring, following what she described as “extensive consultations” with Indigenous leaders.
However, Verreault-Paul noted that a board with Indigenous leaders was only formed after the bill was tabled in April 2025, despite their explicit request that they be consulted beforehand.
“Once again, we are faced with a fait accompli,” Verreault-Paul told Blanchette Vézina at a meeting in early June.
Other AFNQL representatives echoed these concerns.
Chief Wabanonik accused the Quebec government of “methodical territorial dispossession” by reserving one-third of public lands for private interests without Indigenous consent. He called the forestry plan a violation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Quebec’s constitutional obligations.
Beyond the formal UN sessions, the AFNQL delegation met with Indigenous leaders from across the globe and Canadian officials, including the country’s UN ambassador. These diplomatic efforts aimed to build solidarity and ensure international awareness of the challenges First Nations face in Quebec.
“Our sovereignty predates that of the states,” Verreault-Paul said. “We are governments in our own right, with our own institutions and legal systems.”