This week 70 percent of the James Bay Cree voting from nine different communities endorsed a $3.4 billion deal that is effectively both a business deal and a peace treaty between the Cree and the province. The Cree have promised to drop their $3.6 billion environmental lawsuits against the government, and have agreed to hydro installations along the Eastman and Rupert Rivers, if they meet environmental standards. In return they will receive cash payouts from the government in the amount of $24 million for 2002, $46 million in 2003, then $70 million a year for 48 years. Under the pact, the Cree also receive more control of their community and authority over logging and Hydro-Quebec jobs. Seven out of the nine Cree chiefs from the communities voting in the referendum backed the deal; opponents from the Cree village of Chisasibi are worried about the safety issues surrounding construction of more large dams.
