October 5, 2023
The Assembly of First Nations of Labrador and Quebec (AFNQL) unanimously adopted its own cultural safety declaration last week in Montreal, saying First Nations should be leading the charge for Quebec as they seek to adopt their own such law.
The AFNQL officially adopted the body’s ‘Declaration on the Rights of First Nations to Self-Determination and Cultural Safety’ last Thursday, saying the provincial government has left First Nations and their concerns to the side in drafting its own cultural-safety law, Bill 32.
“For the chiefs, cultural safety is of utmost importance to First Nations, because our rights and the safety of our people must be at the forefront and fully respected. By failing to integrate First Nations organizations and governments at the very beginning of a legislative process that directly affects them, the government is once again heading down the wrong path,” AFNQL Chief Ghislain Picard said.
Picard added the CAQ government – which has as yet refused to acknowledge the presence of sytemic racism in the health-care system – merely sees an opportunity to score political points in creating Bill 32.