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April 18, 2003

Honeymoon over for Nunavik and PQ

Quebec Liberals' win ends nine-year relationship

ODILE NELSON

Jean Charest, Quebec's newly elected premier, is no stranger to northern Canada. When he was the federal minister of the environment visited Nunavut three times in the early 1990s, including a 1991 visit to Iqaluit.
(FILE PHOTO)

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Nunavik went to bed with Bernard Landry and woke up with Jean Charest this past Tuesday as the Parti Libéral du Québec won a resounding majority in the April 14 provincial election.

Charest's PLQ seized 76 of the province's 125 seats and more than 60 per cent of the popular vote in Monday's election, while Landry's separatist Parti Québecois won 45 ridings and the Action démocratique du Québec took only four seats.

The new Liberal government will allow Nunavimmiut to temporarily forget the separatist agenda, but it also marks the end of Nunavik's nine-year relationship with successive PQ governments.

And even though the PQ's Michel Létourneau won a second term as the representative for the Ungava riding, Nunavik must now finish negotiations on the pending self-government framework agreement with a new government and as yet unnamed minister of native and northern affairs.

But Pita Aatami, president of Makivik Corp., said he's not worried.

"We tried to keep close relations with the Liberals that were in the last government, even if they weren't the government," Aatami said. "We've made sure they were aware of what we were doing and are up to date. I'm pretty sure the file we have with the PQ on self-government will proceed with this new government."

Aatami is similarly unconcerned Létourneau's new position as a member of the opposition will make it more difficult to negotiate the territory's needs with the Liberal government.

"Some people might think it's an impediment, having an MNA that's in the opposition now. But it doesn't worry me so much," Aatami said. "It doesn't stop us from working with the Liberal government."

The PQ has been at Québec's helm since Jacques Parizeau returned the party to power in 1994. At the time, the PQ was pressing hard for separation, threatening the security of Nunavimmiut who wanted to remain in Canada.
Tensions between Parizeau and Nunavimmiut peaked in 1995 when the PQ held a province-wide vote on Québec sovereignty.

The provincial referendum to separate was narrowly defeated but not before Nunavimmiut held their own referendum on the issue and overwhelmingly decided to stay part of Canada.

The territory's defiance upset the PQ government and it insisted, if Québec seceded, it would take the resource-rich northern territory with it.

But relations improved after Lucien Bouchard became premier in 1996. Under Bouchard, the PQ and Nunavimmiut worked around their differences over separation and began to address the question of self-government for the region's Inuit.

In 1997, Bouchard became the first Quebec premier to visit the region since 1984. Two years later, Quebec and the Nunavik Party signed the Political Accord. The two parties also negotiated the Let Us Share agreement, outlining a proposed form of government for Nunavik. It was signed two months after Bouchard resigned in January 2001.

Landry, Bouchard's successor, continued to foster this new relationship and in 2002 signed the billion-dollar Sanarrutik economic agreement with the region's Inuit.

The PQ government also entered talks on new-government negotiations with Nunavimmiut last year. Negotiations for the new-government framework agreement are now complete though the document was not signed before Landry called the election in early March.

Charest is at least partially familiar with the concerns of the North, having visited the eastern Arctic when he was a cabinet minister with the Tory government in 1991.

Whether Charest will make a priority of Nunavik's desire for self-government and infrastructure and housing remains to be seen.

Charest's campaign platform focused on health care and education, reducing the size of government and cutting taxes. It also mentioned giving regions more autonomy.

Aatami said he does not believe Charest's health and tax-cutting priorities will affect the Quebec-funded infrastructure projects in Nunavik.

"All our agreements we have are signed and the governments have to fulfill the obligation on their side," Aatami said. "I can't really say if I'm concerned or not because we haven't sat down with the Liberal government yet. If they do delay a signed agreement, [at that point] we will have to sit down."

Aatami hopes to discuss Nunavik's concerns and the new-government agreement with the Liberals soon after Charest appoints his cabinet.

Nunavik's election results suggest, despite the rosy exterior, many Nunavimmiut were eager to end the stressful question of Quebec's separation.

Though only 44 per cent of the territory's eligible voters cast their ballots, compared with a 69 per cent provincial turnout, the majority of Nunavimmiut chose the PLQ.

Liberal candidate Don Bubar received 61 per cent of votes cast in Nunavik's 14 communities, while the PQ received 28 and the ADQ 11 per cent.

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