The Eeyou Marine Region Land Claims Agreement

 

“This Agreement is important to the Cree People because it secures recognition for the occupancy, use and ownership of islands in the offshore that they have used since time immemorial.”

-Matthew Coon Come, Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees, 2011.

The Eeyou Marine Region Land Claims Agreement (EMRLCA) is a modern Treaty between the Crees of Eeyou Istchee and the Governments of Canada and Nunavut. This agreement covers an area of approximately 61,270 km² off the shore of eastern James Bay and southeastern Hudson Bay, and settles land and resource rights for the Crees, Canada and Nunavut, over the islands and marine waters in this area.

The islands represent roughly 1,650 km² of land mass, of which almost 1,050 km², or approximately 60%, are owned exclusively by the Crees, including rights to the land and subsurface resources. The islands in southeastern Hudson Bay, which cover an area of almost 400 km², are jointly owned with the Nunavik Inuit. The federal government retains ownership over 20% of the islands representing about 200 km² of the marine waters, seabed and land mass in the area.

The Agreement was ratified by the Crees in March 2010, in which an overwhelming 71% of Cree voters endorsed the Agreement. Shortly afterwards on July 7, 2010 the agreement was signed by the parties. The agreement came into force February 15, 2012.

The EMRLCA is the result of 10 years of negotiations on the rights and obligations of the Crees and Canada in the offshore area of Eeyou Istchee. This area is known as the Eeyou Marine Region (EMR), or in other words, the area of the offshore that the Crees have traditionally occupied and used for time immemorial.

Documents

EMRLCA

EMRLCA Implementation Plan

Highlights of the EMRLCA:

Overlap Area

The Eeyou Marine Region includes an area of overlapping resource use by
both the Crees of Eeyou Istchee and the Nunavik Inuit. As a reflection of this relationship, the Crees and Inuit signed an overlap agreement in 2003 to address their interests, this area is known as the overlap area. The Crees have joint ownership with the Nunavik Inuit of most of the islands in this area.

Wildlife Management

The Eeyou Marine Region Wildlife Board is created under the Agreement as an Institution of Public Government (IPG) 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.

Resource Royalties

The Crees will have surface and subsurface rights over their islands. In addition, the Crees will be entitled to 50% of the first $2 million of resource royalties, and 5% of any additional resource royalties received by governments each year with respect to any extraction of natural resources in the Eeyou Marine Region.