By Lucas-Matthew Marsh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase Amid rising tensions between forestry workers and land defenders across the forests of Northern Quebec, the provincial government and the Atikamekw Nation have returned to the negotiating table, in hopes of preventing a wider conflict from breaking out. Andre Pikutelekan, a spokesperson with the land defense alliance MAMO First Nation, said the situation on the ground remains stable despite increasing hostility. “Morale is good within the group,” Pikutelekan said. “Overall, things are going well, despite this surge of racism among forestry workers’ supporters.” This latest flare up has broken out over bill 97, which aims to modernize Quebec’s forestry regime, though critics have argued it favours resource extraction at the expense of environmental conservation and treaty rights. According to Peter Graefe, a…
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