Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government (french: Gouvernement régional d’Eeyou Istchee Baie-James, cr, ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᐊᔅᒌ ᒉᐃᒥᔅ ᐯᐃ ᐊᔅᒌᐤ ᑎᐹᔨᐦᒋᒑᐎᓐ, italic=no ) is a
local municipality in the (TE) in
administrative region of .
History
On July 24, 2012, the
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
government signed an accord with the
Cree (''Agreement on Governance in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory between the Crees of Eeyou Istchee and the Gouvernement du Québec'') which resulted in the abolition of the local municipality of
Baie-James
The Municipality of Baie-James (french: Municipalité de Baie-James) was a municipality in northern Quebec, Canada, which existed from 1971 to 2012. Located to the east of James Bay, Baie-James covered of land, making it the largest incorporat ...
and the creation of the local municipality of Eeyou Istchee James Bay.
The agreement came into force on January 1, 2014, and is designed to give the Cree expanded powers over lands and resources outside of the Cree municipalities and associated reserved land. The new government consist of Cree and Baie-James residents each having an equal number of votes.
Overview
The territory comprises all lands of Jamésie (TE) minus the four
local municipalities (''municipalité locale'') — also known as the ''enclosed municipalities — of
Chibougamau,
Lebel-sur-Quévillon
Lebel-sur-Quévillon is a city in the Canadian province of Quebec, located on Route 113 in the Jamésie region. It is located approximately 88 kilometres north of Senneterre and approximately 200 kilometres southwest of Chibougamau. It is surroun ...
,
Chapais, and
Matagami
Matagami (, ) is a small town in Quebec, Canada. It is located north of Amos, on Matagami Lake, at the northern terminus of Route 109 and the start of the James Bay Road (French: ''Route de la Baie James''). It is enclaved within the local m ...
, and eight of the nine
Cree communities (''communautés crie'') of
Eeyou Istchee TE.
However, the territory includes three
unconstituted localities (''localités''):
*
Radisson
*Valcanton
*
Villebois
Government
Composition & local governance
The territory outside the enclaved Cree communities (Category III lands) is governed by the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government (''le Gouvernement régional d’Eeyou Istchee Baie-James'').
Local governance is carried out by way of the council of regional government, which for its first ten years is to be composed of 11 Cree representatives, 11 Jamésien representatives, and one non-voting representative of the government of Québec.
The Cree representatives consist of the Grand Chief of the
Cree Nation Government
The Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) or the GCC(EI) (ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᐊᔅᒌ in Cree), is the political body that represents the approximately 18,000 Cree people (who call themselves "Eeyou" or "Eenou" in the various dialects of Eas ...
and then ten members appointed by the Board of the Cree Nation Government from within its own ranks. The Jamésien representatives consist of members of the local municipal councils of Chapais, Chibougamau, Lebel-sur-Quévillon, and Matagami as well as non-Crees in the Eeyout Istchee James Bay Territory and are appointed by the provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy.
Finally, the non-voting representative of the government of Quebec is appointed by the Deputy Minister of the Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire (MAMROT) from amongst its staff.
Regional governance
The enclaved settlements are not under the jurisdiction of the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government unless an enclaved settlement, by a unanimous vote of its local council, requests partnership with the regional government.
In that instance, the territorial regional government may carry out the powers of a
regional county municipality (RCM).
References
External links
Website of the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Regional Government
{{Authority control
Municipalities in Quebec
Territories equivalent to a regional county municipality
Cree reserves and territories
*
2012 establishments in Quebec
States and territories established in 2012
First Nations geography
Power sharing