MISTISSINI – ANISHINABEK – 

The march departs from Mistissini on Sunday, November 23, after a send-off feast the night before. The Cree walkers plan to travel over 800 kilometres to Montreal, via Chibougamau, St. Felicien, the Laurentides Park and Quebec City. The march will arrive in Montreal on Monday, December 15, for the last day of the public hearings of the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement’s (BAPE) on the uranium industry in Quebec.

“With this march, we the Cree youth are walking in the footsteps of our ancestors, to hand deliver the message of the Cree Nation as a whole,” Youth Chairman Joshua Iserhoff explained. “Our message is clear: we have said NO to uranium mining and exploration in Eeyou Istchee.”

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Source: NetNewsLedger

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It was a proud moment for him as a young Cree man, but also a significant one for the whole family which had gathered for the fall hunting season.

“I would want my children to experience it, I would want my grandchildren to experience this. It just came full circle for me in the past month as we want to protect this land for future generations”, said the young Cree leader.

This weekend Iserhoff, who is the chair of the Cree Nation Youth Council, will join a group of Crees walking to Montreal to hand deliver a message to the province’s environmental protection agency’s (BAPE) commission on the uranium industry in Quebec.

The group has a message for BAPE: There will be no uranium exploration and exploitation on the Cree territory of Eeyou Istchee.

“We are the stewards of the land, therefore we have this responsibility to protect for the generations to come,” Iserhoff said.

The walkers will be leaving Mistissini this Sunday to travel over 850 kilometers to reach Montreal by Dec. 15, the last day of the BAPE’s public hearings on the uranium industry in Quebec.

They want other nations and other Quebecers to join the walk.

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Source: CBC

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The Cree Nation reaffirms their opposition to uranium development on their land

MISTISSINI, EEYOU ISTCHEE (Quebec), November 14, 2014 – The final phase of the hearings of the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) on the uranium industry in Quebec opened this week in Eeyou Istchee, the territory of the James Bay Cree Nation. During hearings in Chisasibi and Mistissini, Cree community members and Cree leaders from across the territory relayed once again their united stand against uranium development.

“After following the first two phases of the BAPE process, the Cree Nation is convinced, now more than ever, of the significant long-term risks that uranium development would bring to our land,” stated Grand Chief Dr. Matthew Coon Come. “We are not prepared to impose such burdens on our future generations.”

The BAPE began its inquiry into the uranium industry in Quebec in May 2014, and is scheduled to submit its recommendations to the Minister of the Environment by May 2015. The Cree Nation has been vocal and steadfast in its opposition to uranium development in Eeyou Istchee, since Strateco Resources sought to undertake advanced exploration efforts for uranium on traditional family traplines of the Cree Nation of Mistissini.

The Cree Nation of Mistissini has led the charge against uranium development on its land. “We have said no to uranium development on our territory, and our position is unequivocal,” Chief Richard Shecapio of the Cree Nation of Mistissini said. “We are determined to protect the integrity of our land and our way of life, as well as ensuring a future for generations yet to come.”

The third phase of BAPE hearings on the uranium industry in Quebec will continue across Quebec throughout November and December. More information regarding the BAPE and the Cree Nation’s position can be found at www.StandAgainstUranium.com.

Source: Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee)

For further information, please contact:

Bill Namagoose, Executive Director

Telephone: (613) 761-1655

Cellular: (613) 725-7024

Me Jessica Orkin, Legal counsel

Cellular: (514) 260-2622

The post FINAL PHASE OF BAPE HEARINGS ON URANIUM IN EEYOU ISTCHEE appeared first on JBC against Uranium.

“I encourage all members of our nation, and particularly Cree youth, to visit the People’s Board at StandAgainstUranium.com and share their views about uranium mining in Eeyou Istchee,” stated Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come. “The youth have played a large role in keeping uranium exploration and mining off our land. Cree youth have lots to say, and I encourage you all to make your voices heard on the People’s Board.”

“Uranium development in Eeyou Istchee is truly an intergenerational issue because it will have lasting impacts on the Cree for generations to come. For this reason, uranium is an issue of great concern to Cree youth,” added Youth Grand Chief Joshua Iserhoff. “The youth in our communities are very active on social media. The Cree Nation has created the People’s Board to provide another platform for our youth to express themselves about uranium mining on this land that we love and respect.”

The #StandAgainstUranium campaign has been launched by the Cree Nation as the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) continues its hearings on the future of the uranium industry in Quebec. The public will have the opportunity to make submissions during the third and final phase of the BAPE’s hearings in November andDecember 2014.

For more information, and to join the Cree Nation’s stand against uranium, please visit:
standagainsturanium.com/people
https://twitter.com/JBCAUranium
https://www.facebook.com/jamesbaycreeagainsturanium

SOURCE:  The Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee)

For further information: Bill Namagoose, Executive Director, Telephone: (613) 761-1655, Cellular: (613) 725-7024; Me Jessica Orkin, Legal counsel, Cellular: (514) 260-2622

ARTICLE SOURCE: CNW Newswire

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This Sunday on Maamuitaau; The quest for uranium in Eeyou Istchee.

On the eve of a new round of BAPE’s hearings in Eeyou Istchee, our whole show is dedicated the issue of uranium development.

Here’s an extract of our interview with Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come. See the whole interview this Sunday at noon on CBC.

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This phase is exclusively dedicated to the hearing of briefs and verbal opinions, and of citizens’, municipalities’, organizations’ and groups’ suggestions.

The commission will hear the briefs in the following venues:

The sessions will be broadcasted live in audio mode on the BAPE Website (www.bape.gouv.qc.ca).

THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IS ESSENTIAL!

The public participation is essential for the inquiry commission. It permits to the commission to hear the participants’ arguments, opinions and suggestions before writing the report, which will be given in to the minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, David Heurtel, before May 20, 2015.

For any further information, you can communicate with Rita LeBlanc, commission secretariat coordinator, by phone at 418 643-7447 or toll-free at 1 800 463-4732, ext. 422. You may as well contact the commission by email at [email protected].

SOURCE: Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement

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Cree leaders in Quebec are taking to social media to drum up support for their campaign against uranium development in their territory.

The community leaders say they may be far from urban centres — anywhere from an eight to 18-hour drive north of Montreal — but almost everyone has access to high speed internet and 3G cell service. They want to make sure Crees show up and voice their concerns when the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) province-wide hearings into the uranium industry come to northern Quebec next month.

They’re also using Twitter to spread the word and gain support outside of Cree territory. “We are encouraging the Cree Nation to participate in this important public process and to tell the BAPE what the Crees are thinking about uranium development in Eeyou Istchee,” said Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come. The Cree government has launched a website and social media campaign, #StandAgainstUranium. They are asking people to take selfies with the Stand Against Uranium sign.

“The Crees are only one voice and so we are seeking allies,” said Coon Come.

A few weeks ago the Cree Nation government also released a trailer for a nine-minute film it sponsored, looking at the Cree’s response to a proposed uranium project. The film, The Wolverine: The Fight of the James Bay Cree, was featured at the Uranium Film Festival in Germany last month.The most advanced uranium project in the province is Strateco Resources’ Matoush project, located in the Otish Mountains north of the Cree community of Mistissini.

The Cree Nation government firmly opposes all uranium exploration, mining and waste storage in Eeyou Istchee, Cree territory in northern Quebec.In June 2013, Quebec’s environment minister refused to grant Strateco the permits it had requested to go ahead with the project. Coon Come says that decision was partly due to Cree opposition to the project.

Cree youth participated in anti-uranium demonstrations during Earth Day celebrations in Montreal, and protested during the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s visit to Mistissini in June 2012. “The BAPE is coming to Eeyou Istchee because of the strong stand taken by our people,” said Coon Come.

“The Minister of Environment heard us when we said no to Strateco’s Matoush project. The minister refused to grant Strateco’s permit in large part because the project was not socially acceptable to us Crees — the population that would be most directly impacted. So we’ve won some important battles but the fight against uranium development is not over.”

The BAPE will be in Chisasibi on Nov. 11, Chibougamau on Nov. 12 and Mistissini Nov. 13. Those who wish to speak at the hearings must signal their intention to participate by Oct. 30.

Source: CBC News

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If you can believe all that’s written in 11 volumes of material contained in Areva Resources Inc.’s final environmental impact assessment report, the proposed Kiggavik uranium mine, 80 kilometres west of Baker Lake, will bring jobs, training, money and hope to a region in need of those things.

But there will be costs during three to four years of construction, 14 years of proposed operation and 10 years of decommissioning the mine, says the report.

The lengthy final EIS, submitted to the Nunavut Impact Review Board Oct. 2 and made available online Oct. 17, outlines how the company hopes to cut those costs to people, animals, the land and air while taking into account the current, and changing, northern climate.

Areva attempts to show, in this report, how the company will comply with all existing laws and regulations, how it has incorporated “best practices” into infrastructure design and that it’s considered all possible environmental scenarios.

But Areva admits that certain circumstances — and outcomes — cannot be predicted.

For example: “because the project is located in the zone of continuous permafrost, the assessment of the long-term effects of the project is dependent on climate change scenarios and their impact on permafrost,” the final EIS report says.

One of the most commonly repeated words in this report is “monitor.”

And Areva will need a whole team of monitors to do all the monitoring it promises in this report.

The company says that the date of project construction will be influenced by a number of things, including “favourable market conditions,” but adds later, “the market price for uranium concentrate over the last five years has been within the range needed for reasonable return on investment to owners.”

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Author: LISA GREGOIRE

Source: NunatsiaqOnline

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Set in the beautiful region of Eeyou Istchee, the territory of the James Bay Cree in northern Quebec, the film recounts the ancient Cree legend about Wolverine, who stands up to the Giant Skunk. The Skunk is hunting and attempts to kill Wolverine’s family with his toxic spray. This age-old battle becomes an allegory for the Cree Nation’s fight against uranium development in their territory.

“I believe that good films can change the world, and this is one of those films,” stated Norbert G. Suchanek, the founder and director of the International Uranium Film Festival. “It has a special beauty, it has a soul.”

Over the next few months, The Wolverine will screen at the International Uranium Film Festival’s events in Jordan and India. The film’s North American debut will occur in April 2015, when the Cree Nation will host the International Uranium Film Festival in Quebec City, Montreal and Eeyou Istchee.

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That ends a run that had seen the metal rise from as low as $28 over the summer. Leaving prices still at very low levels compared to rates seen over the last 10 years.

The player in question is France’s Areva. Which said that current uranium prices are too low to go ahead with one of the company’s major development projects globally: the Kiggavik uranium deposit in Canada’s northern Nunavut Territory.

Last week Areva announced that it has submitted a final environmental impact statement to local Nunavut authorities for a potential mine at Kiggavik. A key step in moving the project toward production.

But in the same news release, Areva said that uranium prices are too low to “favour a construction decision” for the project. Leaving the timing of mine building here uncertain.

The interesting thing is that Kiggavik is one of the best uranium development projects in the world right now. Especially outside of Canada’s high-grade Athabasca Basin.

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Source: OilPrice.com

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