Open Letter

This letter is in response to questions which have been raised recently regarding the eligibility of Mr. Gaston Cooper to have been elected, and to continue to serve, as Councillor in Ouje-Bougoumou.

Upon a review of all the facts and observations in relation to this matter, including discussions with the Ouje-Bougoumou Returning Officer, a review of the report from the Cree-Naskapi Commission, and an internal review of the traditional practices and by-laws of the Ouje-Bougoumou Cree Nation, the Council has determined that, on balance, the community would be better served by Mr. Cooper continuing in the capacity of Councillor.

In arriving at this conclusion, the Council needed to carefully weigh many factors. The Council needed to consider the letter of the current Ouje-Bougoumou by-laws, the intent and status of certain administrative procedures over which the community has no control, the legal status of Ouje-Bougoumou by-laws, the status of various membership lists, certain assumptions about local membership practices and ongoing community stability.

Ouje-Bougoumou has for some time been a very complex political reality in view of the fact that it still has not been formally incorporated into the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. It is neither a “band” under the Indian Act nor a “band” under the Cree Naskapi Act. It has functioned for the most part according to its own traditional practices, authority, and jurisdiction. At the same time, recognizing that eventually it will assume self-governance powers under the Cree Naskapi Act, the community has adopted some of the practices described in the Act and has, to some extent, begun to function in the same manner as the other Cree communities.

To further complicate the matter, the community has attempted to register its local by-laws with the department of Indian Affairs in order to improve the enforcement function of local by-laws, only to have them returned to us with a refusal to recognize them. The community has, therefore, continued to function in an extremely ambiguous context involving traditional practices, contemporary by-laws developed locally and elements of the Cree Naskapi Act.

The current political situation which has been in place for a number of years is one which has contributed to a great deal of uncertainty in relation to issues which should be straightforward administrative procedures. Although the Ouje-Bougoumou Returning Officer has acknowledged possible errors prior to the last election in reviewing the electoral list based on the letter of one of the by-laws, such an error is certainly understandable in view of the overwhelming complexity of the overall situation.

Further, Mr. Cooper’s name is included in the list of founding members of Ouje-Bougoumou which appears in the Ouje-Bougoumou-Canada Agreement, the agreement signed with Canada in 1992 which led to the construction of the new village. As early as 1991, Mr. Cooper expressed his intention to become a member of the Ouje-Bougoumou community and he began, at that early date, the process for transferring bands from Waswanipi where he was registered.

Owing to the general ambiguity of Ouje-Bougoumou’s legal status, the process for transferring bands is not straightforward. It certainly is not as clear as it is for other Cree communities. Because Ouje-Bougoumou is not legally constituted as a “band,” the transfer from another band must be made indirectly through Mistissini. Therefore, the involvement of three communities is required. The possibilities for error are significantly increased with such a cumbersome and awkward procedural framework. It appears that, for reasons that had nothing to do with Mr. Cooper’s efforts, his intentions, or his desire for an early transfer, the transfer was lost in an administrative quagmire for quite some time. In the meantime, although Mr. Cooper consistently referred to the transfer being in progress, the community has assumed that the transfer had been in effect. Mr. Cooper remained an active participant in the life of the community, and he was considered an Ouje-Bougoumou member in every sense of the term. In fact, the ambiguity has been so pervasive, Mr. Cooper’s name has been on previous electoral lists and he has voted in previous elections. That the transfer process had gone awry was a surprise to most people in the community. It is unfortunate that the transfer took over 12 years, but it was officially completed in early 2004.

A careful reading of the report of the Cree Naskapi Commission supports the view that the entire Ouje-Bougoumou political situation is a very complex one, and one which is prone to having ambiguous circumstances arise. We agree with the Commission’s conclusion that this context will only improve once the community is formally include in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement and begins to govern itself in keeping with the Cree Naskapi Act.

The Ouje-Bougoumou Council believes that Mr. Cooper has made an important contribution while serving as Councillor and that it would not serve the community well to ask for his resignation. The potential instability to the functioning of the Council in the event of Mr. Cooper’s departure would have a far greater negative impact than having him not continue to fulfill his elected mandate.

However, in view of the complexity of this issue the Council intends to bring this matter to an upcoming Community Assembly so that the Council can further explain its decision and to also permit the community members to ask for clarification and express their opinions.

The Council looks forward to having this matter behind it so that it can proceed to carry out its mandate from the people.

Sincerely yours,

Sophie H. Bosum

Deputy Chief