Public consultations on research prioritization in the Eeyou Marine Region
Public Consultation
The Eeyou Marine Wildlife Board will host a public consultation on its research priorities on November 17, 2016 in Whapmagoostui.
Location: Whapmagoostui Sport and Recreation Complex
Time: November 17, 2016 at 1:30 pm
Everyone is welcome.
The Eeyou Marine Region Wildlife Board (EMRWB) will conduct public consultations in the five Cree coastal communities this upcoming summer regarding its research priorities in the EMR.
The EMRWB, an entity created under the Eeyou Marine Region Land Claims Agreement (EMRLCA), started its operation in 2013. It is composed of seven members: three of them appointed by the Grand Council of the Crees of Eeyou Istchee, two by the Federal Government (Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans) and one by the Nunavut Government. The 7th member, the Chairperson, is nominated by the board members and appointed by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
The Wildlife Board, along with the Planning Commission and the Impact Review Board, share their head office in Waskaganish with a supporting staff of five that ensure their activities. The three boards are institutions of public government meaning that they are independent from the federal and territorial governments, as well as from the Grand Council of the Crees of Eeyou Istchee and the Cree Nation Government; these three boards have their own accountability.
The EMRWB is mandated as the main instrument of wildlife management and the main regulator of access to wildlife within the EMR. It also has a mandate of research and the responsibility to manage a 5 000 000$ Research Fund that has been invested to generate revenue, which will be later used to support research activities. In order to assess future research priorities, the Wildlife Board in collaboration with Arctic Net held, in March 2014, a «Symposium on Sciences and Traditional Knowledge». Later, in March 2015, a broad consultation with a large number of organizations, institutions, departments and agencies has been carried out with the goals to pinpoint potential research topics and set the basis of potential funding partnerships.
A first selection of the proposals has been made by the EMRWB to ensure that the topics retained respect the Wildlife Board’s mandate under the EMRLCA, and reflect the concerns expressed in the Cree communities. The next step is for the Wildlife Board to consult with the five coastal Cree communities to seek people’s opinions, concerns and support regarding future research activities. The Chairperson of the Wildlife Board, Roderick Pachano, along with some members of the board and staff will hold public assemblies within the communities to present research proposals and discuss with the people.
Once the consultation process is completed, the Wildlife Board will develop Traditional Knowledge and Science Protocols on the research topics chosen to be carried out respecting the rights of the EMRLCA beneficiaries.
You can download our pamphlet in Cree here: