Quebec, Cree Leaders Sign Deal as Other Indigenous Groups Protest Across Canada

Quebec Premier Francois Legault (R) shakes hands with Chairman of the Cree Nation Government Abel Bosum after signing a Memorandum of Understanding on collaborative, long-term economic development at a news conference in Montreal, on Feb. 17, 2020. Ryan Remiorz/Canadian press

MONTREAL—Quebec and Cree leaders are announcing the first steps of a wide-ranging 30-year plan to further develop the province’s northern territory together.

Premier Francois Legault told reporters today he has been assured the initiative has the consent of the broader Cree community, in contrast, he said, to a natural gas pipeline proposal in British Columbia that has divided First Nations peoples and triggered protests across the country.