AFNQL Action Plan
Written by Paul Graif on 29 September 2020
The Assembly of First Nations Quebec and Labrador has released its own action plan on Racism and Discrimination in response to the one released by the CAQ government. Chief Ghislain Picard is inviting all Quebeckers to join first nations people in the fight against racism saying that towns like Val d’Or have already moved in a good direction:
“We already have municipalities that have led the way, in some way, I’m thinking of Val d’Or which was obviously a place of concern back in 2015, with regard to the relationship between Policing services and our people, especially women. Val d’Or has created a working group on racism back in 2016 and they have moved on with their own challenges and their own recommendations within their region. But they also adopted the UN declaration on The Rights of Indigenous Peoples back in 2017. That’s where Val d’Or has maybe and maybe a few other municipalities can inspire others.”
Chief Picard says some underestimate the contributions Indigenous communities make to society:
“Many people, if not the majority often underestimate the kind of contributions that our people make, even from an economic perspective. I look to Kahnawà:ke and Chateauguay and the surrounding boroughs and to me people tend to not really know the kinds of contributions that we provide and it’s the same for other regions in this Province.”
Picard said there are dozens of actions that can be adopted immediately across all of society, including: municipalities, educational institutions, as well as for individual citizens.
