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Author’s note: Bill 97 was abandoned by Legault’s government on September 25. This article was written prior to the government’s decision. This reform proves the importance of uplifting Indigenous and environmentalist voices to protect our land.
In April 2025, Quebec Minister of Natural Resources and Forests Maïté Blanchette-Vézina pushed forward Bill 97, a large reform aimed at Quebec forestry, arguing it would modernize the forestry regime and be more sustainable in the long term. The Act proposed to reform supply licenses from five years of validity to ten years, claiming that it would allow for more sustainable approaches by encouraging longer term investments from forestry exploitation actors: having a longer license, they will by default look further in the future when drafting exploitation regimen. Bill 97 also granted more flexibility to local actors to adapt to the local factors more efficiently. The main component of Bill 97, titled “An Act mainly to modernize the forest regime” is its introduction of the ‘triad-zoning model.’ It would divide Quebec Forestry into three zones: conservation areas where logging is strictly limited, multi-purpose areas which allow for tourism and other activities alongside forest exploitation, and finally “priority forest-development zones” meant for intense timber exploitation.
However, Blanchette-Vézina’s bill was met with much resistance. The only ones who who have
approved of the government’s bill are the industrialists of the forestry, with the Quebec Forest Industry Council claiming it offered more predictability while still blaming it for being “too prescriptive” according to the President of the Conseil de l’industrie forestière du Québec, Jean-François Samray.
As soon as the bill was released, First Nations representatives contested it. Regional Chief Francis Verreault-Paul of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) said Bill 97 was both “extremely surprising and disappointing.” Recommendations made by the Indigenous representatives were not considered at all and Lucien Wabanonik, chief of the Lac-Simon Anishnabe Nation, even called the proposal “an insult to our intelligence.” Indeed, not only did the Minister ignore her constitutional duty to collaborate and concert with Indigenous Peoples in the drafting of a bill that directly affects their lives, livelihoods, and ancestral lands, she also drafted a bill that places the industry above Indigenous rights. Chief Wabanonik explains the bill authorizes traditional activities “only if they do not harm logging,” showing the little consideration this bill, and the way it was written, has for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and ancestral lands.
The “triad-zoning model” planned to grant at least 30 per cent of public forestry in all of Quebec for exclusive exploitation by the industry by 2028. This is not taking into account the ‘multi-use’ zones where logging is also permitted alongside other activities. Because of this, the AFNQL has accused the government of privatizing nearly a third of First Nations territories for industrial interest.
This not only impacts traditional and legal rights of the First Nations, but also the survival and livelihood of communities in addition to the preservation of the environment. While Quebec’s forestry is already more fragile than ever, the Bill places industry over conservation of its natural forests, which have already been compromised as authorities currently authorize clear-cutting far too often. Furthermore, the increase of industrial exploitation will mean the increase in monoculture, which is the direct loss of biodiversity and exposure of the forest to increased risks of fire and disease.
Alongside the AFNQL’s immediate condemnation of Bill 97, the MAMO/MAMU alliance of several Indigenous nations took up protest and blocked forest exploitation by writing letters of expulsion to 11 forestry companies. Environment activists and First Nations members actively protested, even in the streets of Montreal-South. The Cree Nation government also threatened to take legal action using the “Paix des Braves” agreement of 2002. This legally binding treaty protects Cree rights, obligating the Quebec Government to consult them before developing or using Indigenous lands in the North of the province. After the Quebec Ministry conceded to look at proposed amendments over the summer, the AFNQL demanded the complete withdrawal of Bill 97. The only solution would be to draft a bill alongside the First Nations and conservationists, as Chief Verreault-Paul stated, “Only through the full withdrawal of Bill 97 and by returning together to the drawing board can we begin a true co-construction legislative process and envision a balanced future for our forests, while reducing the tensions currently observed on the ground.