{"id":106432,"date":"2025-08-29T22:45:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T22:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/106432\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T22:45:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T22:45:11","slug":"grand-chief-rejects-quebec-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/106432\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Chief rejects Quebec constitution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kahnaw\u00e0:ke Mohawk Territory Grand Chief Cody Diabo had a simple message for Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette: First Nations are not subordinate to the province of Quebec, and will not be included in any provincial constitution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no Quebec nation,\u201d Diabo told APTN News. \u201c[Jolin-Barrette is] a Canadian at the end of the day. They\u2019re not separate from Canada. This whole push to want to try to separate, if that\u2019s what they want to try to do, by all means, but you\u2019re not leaving with Mohawk land. You don\u2019t have jurisdiction over us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diabo traveled to Quebec City Wednesday, to meet with Jolin-Barrette and discuss the provincial government\u2019s plan for a Quebec constitution. He was accompanied by Kahnaw\u00e0:ke Chief Political Advisor Lloyd Phillips, as well as by Regional Chief Francis Verrault-Paul of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador.<\/p>\n

The push for Quebec to develop its own constitution is the product of the Report of the Advisory Committee on Quebec\u2019s Constitutional Issues within the Canadian Federation, also known as the Proux-Rousseau Report. That document<\/a> was tabled in late November of 2024 and encouraged the adoption of a constitution as a means for Quebec to establish its autonomy inside Canada.<\/p>\n

The purpose of a constitution, according to the report, would be to strengthen Quebec by laying out the distinct laws, values, and legal decisions that have shaped Quebec as a society.<\/p>\n

Following the report, Quebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault said he was open to the idea. In April his government brought in constitutional expert Patrick Taillon to oversee the drafting of a constitution before the next Quebec election, which can occur no later than October 5, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"QuebecQuebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault. Photo: APTN File<\/p>\n

\u201cOur agreements are with the British Crown, who delegated that to the federal government,\u201d Diabo said, \u201cand [Legault and the CAQ] are just the provincial government. This whole notion that they\u2019re trying to create a constitution, to me, is ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

In December of 2024, Diabo and the Mohawk Council of Kahnaw\u00e0:ke signed a Memorandum of Understanding called the \u201cStatement of Understanding and Mutual Respect<\/a>\u201d with Fran\u00e7ois Legault and the government of Quebec. That document was intended to signal the beginning of a new relationship between the two governments.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n

Mohawk Council of Kahnaw\u00e0:ke concerned about Que. immigration legislation<\/a><\/p>\n

Decades after the siege: Kanehsat\u00e0:ke and Kahnaw\u00e0:ke demands an apology<\/a><\/p>\n

Diabo rejects any notion that First Nations would be subordinate to the government of Quebec, and subject to any constitution it might draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat really goes against the MOU that myself and the Premier signed almost a year ago, where we talked about peacefully coexisting. Yet constantly we have these bills that are asserting or attempting to assert jurisdiction over us, over our lands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diabo says he told Jolin-Barrette that if the Legault government placed a clause in the constitution guaranteeing it would have no power over or interference in First Nations\u2019 right to self-determination, Mohawk leadership would not contest the document.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re truly committed to what we signed with the MOU, then you would put that in there,\u201d Diabo said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t getting a hard commitment to say, \u2018Yes, we\u2019ll put that in there.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Diabo is hesitant to bring a court challenge to the constitution, calling legal battles a waste of everybody\u2019s money. But he does not want to see Quebec pass any law that positions Mohawks as answerable to Quebec.<\/p>\n

He noted the Legault government has not yet shared details of what the constitution will look like, or whether or not it will include bills such as language law Bill 101, or state-secularism law Bill 21.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven on the consultation end, that\u2019s defined by Canadian law, which they have to follow,\u201d Diabo argued. \u201cThere\u2019s processes in place for duties to consult, which they\u2019re still not upholding either.\u201d<\/p>\n

APTN News contacted the office of Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette for comment. We had not heard back from them at the time that this article was published.<\/p>\n

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