Mohawk Council of Kahnawake issues strong opinion regarding Quebec Election

03/19/2014

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) wishes to inform the public of its opinion on the upcoming Quebec Provincial Election being held on 7, Onerahtókha/April 2014.

“We have always maintained our position of respecting the Two-Row Wampum treaty that, basically, directs us not to participate in affairs that aren’t ours,” said Grand Chief Michael Ahríhron Delisle, Jr. “The same is expected of our Canadian and Provincial neighbors. We may travel the same river, but we stay in our canoe, and you stay in yours.”

“However, we are nonetheless highly disturbed by the likelihood that the Parti Québécois’ would probably move forward with their plan to hold a sovereignty referendum should they attain a majority government,” he continued. “Our relationship with Canada is complicated and difficult enough without the threat of the Parti-Québécois-led government leading this region down a path of institutionalized intolerance that we will see with their proposed Quebec Charter of Values.”

“The fact that the Parti Québécois is hell-bent on pushing their Charter through regardless of its impacts on anyone who isn’t ‘pure laine’ Quebecois tells us that the road ahead will be filled with potholes and roadblocks.”

“Remember: we are not Canadians, nor are we Quebecois – we are Mohawks,” he concluded. “We would prefer to be good neighbors, but many of our people are feeling threatened by the tone of the Parti Quebecois. While we understand the aspirations of the Quebec people, we feel that the current government is setting the stage for a Quebec that marginalizes large sectors of its population – including the People who have been here since time immemorial. Like other First Nations in Quebec, we will continue to fight for our rights, lands and freedoms.”