The chiefs of Mashteuiatsh in Lac-Saint-Jean and of Essipit and Nutashkuan on the north coast met in Montreal on Monday with the ministers responsible for Aboriginal affairs in Quebec and Ottawa, namely Ian Lafrenière, the minister responsible for First Nations and Inuit -Relations, and Marc Miller, Secretary of State for Crown Indigenous Relations.

It was the first summit since the provisional agreement was reached in 2004.

The treaty, which will have an impact of more than $1 billion, aims to recognize and respect Innu ancestral rights and titles, including self-government.

Mashteuiatsh boss Gilbert Dominique hopes to resolve the remaining outstanding issues by the end of the month.

Yes, we are definitely heading towards an agreement by the end of the month, although there are still some specific issues to be clarified, in particular the amount of the endowment fund. We’re going to talk about a few hundred million that’s going to come from the federal government. Does it seem that an interesting proposal should be presented to us at the beginning of March, which should come full circle within the framework of the agreement?he mentioned in an interview on Wednesday.

In a press release, the heads of Essipit, Martin Dufour, and Nutashkuan, Real Tettaut, were also satisfied with the negotiations.

Minister Lafrenière also expressed his hope at the end of January.

The agreement must be ratified by referendum by the people of the three communities before a definitive treaty can be signed.

40 years of negotiations

Gilbert Dominique believes that in 40 years of negotiations with Quebec and Ottawa, the communities have never been so close to an agreement.

He would like to highlight the important role played by Quebec Premier François Legault, who has set a deadline.

Prime Minister Legault’s commitment to set a date, to agree with us that on March 31st we commit ourselves to doing everything we can to come up with a draft treaty, quite frankly that’s unheard of in our negotiation process and I think that was crucialhe continued.

However, there are still a few things to be settled.

There are some points that are important, particularly in relation to Quebec, on the issue of the inherent right to self-determination, where Quebec has not yet been persuaded to consent to the use of this term. You are in reflection, in analysis. We think that we will have found a solution acceptable to everyone by the end of March.he added.