Backgrounder - The Eeyou Marine Region Land Claims Agreement

The Eeyou Marine Region Land Claims Agreement (the Agreement) is an agreement between the Crees of Eeyou Istchee and the Government of Canada which covers an area of approximately 61,270 square kilometres off the Quebec shore in the eastern James Bay and southern Hudson Bay. The Agreement settles the land and resource rights, including those of Canada and the Crees, over the islands and the marine waters in this area. The islands in this area represent approximately 1,650 square kilometres of land mass, of which almost 1,050 square kilometres will be owned exclusively by the Crees, including rights to the land and subsurface resources. Islands in the southern Hudson Bay, which cover an area of nearly 400 square kilometres, will be jointly owned with the Nunavik Inuit. The federal government will retain ownership over some islands representing approximately 200 square kilometres of land mass in the area. It will also retain ownership over the marine waters and ownership of the seabed.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Overlap Area: The Eeyou Marine Region includes an overlapping area of interest to both the Crees and the Nunavik Inuit. To reflect this, an overlap agreement was signed between the Crees and the Inuit in 2003, which addresses the respective interests of the Crees and Inuit over this overlapping area. In this regard, the Crees have joint ownership with the Nunavik Inuit of most of the islands in the overlap area.
• Wildlife Management: The Eeyou Marine Region Wildlife Board will be established under the Agreement as an institution of public government to manage and regulate wildlife and harvesting. The Crees have the exclusive right to harvest certain species and they have the right to harvest any species of wildlife in the Eeyou Marine Region to fulfill their economic, social and cultural needs. Some restrictions may be considered to allow for conservation.
• Capital Transfer and Implementation: The Government of Canada will provide a capital transfer to the Crees of approximately $67.57nbsp;million over a period of ten years and a one-time payment for implementation of approximately $5.7 million when the agreement comes into effect. The Agreement was ratified by the Crees in March 2010 and signed by the parties in July 2010.
• Resource Royalties: The Crees will have surface and subsurface rights over their islands. In addition, the Crees will be entitled to 50 per cent of the first $2 million of resource royalties, and five per cent of any additional resource royalties received by governments each year with respect to any extraction of natural resources in the Eeyou Marine Region.
• Certainty: The Agreement will provide certainty with respect to the rights of Canada and the Crees over land and resources in the Eeyou Marine Region.
• Role of Nunavut in negotiations: The Government of Nunavut was involved in these negotiations due to the unique nature of this claim. Representatives of the Government of Nunavut were invited to attend the negotiations as part of the federal team in order to provide input on certain matters in which they may be involved in the future with the Crees. For example, they will be represented on all three co-management regimes created under the Agreement: the Wildlife Board, the Planning Commission and Impact Review Board.