Where your federal candidates stand on issues facing Eeyou Istchee

Here's what federal candidates have to say about their promises if elected to represent the Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik-Eeyou riding, and more specifically, Eeyou Istchee. 

The Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik-Eeyou riding is one of the largest electoral districts in Canada. CBC spoke with candidates in the riding, focusing specifically on their past accomplishments and plans for Eeyou Istchee.

There are four candidates vying to represent the Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik-Eeyou riding in Parliament. Sylvie Bérubé is running for the Bloc Québécois, Mandy Gull-Masty for the Liberals, Thai Dillon Higashihara for the NDP, and Steve Corriveau for the Conservatives.

Sylvie Bérubé has served as MP of the riding since 2019. She says she aims to improve food security for Indigenous communities and address issues like border safety, transportation, and climate change.

She said, despite Quebec Premier François Legault advocating to speed up the environmental review process for new mining and energy projects, protecting the environment comes first for her.

"We don't want [LNG] here. We don't want carbon pollution either. We want a consensus on the environment, that's what we're asking for," she said. "For food security, in the Indigenous communities of northern Quebec it's very important, it's central to their values. So we have to act quickly for the environment."

When asked whether she had visited Eeyou Istchee during her five years as Member of Parliament, she answered instead that she went to Nunavik twice.

She says she isn't sure if she will visit Eeyou Istchee during the campaign, due to a limited budget. 

"I started in 2019 and then there was the pandemic which lasted two and a half years. So we weren't able to travel. But afterward I went to Nunavik, to Aupaluk, Bérubé," she said. 

During the 2021 election, Sylvie Bérubé receieved only 4 percent of the votes from Eeyou Istchee, according to Elections Canada. Just over 45 per cent of her votes came from the Jamésie and Abitibi-Témiscamingue regions. 

Liberal candidate, Mandy Gull-Masty, says she intends to invest her time in speaking to elected members of their communities to hear about their specific needs.

She was the first woman to hold the position of Grand Chief in Eeyou Istchee. She resigned from this position to run in the federal election.

"There are so many things going on at the national scale that people need to pay attention to, but there's also a regional portrait of what we need to see here within the riding," said Gull-Masty. 

If elected, she says her priorities are to build stronger relationships with Anishinaabe, Cree, Inuit, and francophone leaders in the regional riding while addressing their needs in Parliament.

"We share this space, we share this territory, we share this riding," said Gull-Masty. "We can have a stronger plan for the territory. And I think that you need that kind of voice in Ottawa to represent you, do the work for you and push your file."

Thai Dillon Higashihara is a recent political science graduate from the University of Toronto. He stepped in as the NDP candidate for Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik-Eeyou after the original candidate withdrew for personal reasons. 

"I think it's a shame that the government hasn't done enough to help revitalize language infrastructure in the area," said Higashihara

Higashihara's decision to represent this riding is influenced by his grandfather, who helped build infrastructure in Oujé-Bougoumou, a small community in Eeyou Istchee. 

"I think a lot of focus in this riding has been really centred around Val-d'Or and French culture, which is really important," said Higashihara. 

However, Higashihara has not yet visited Eeyou Istchee since the beginning of his campaign.

"The lack of real representation and real work in northern infrastructure. I think that the NDP has a huge strong record in delivering that," said Higashihara. 

Steve Corriveau, the Conservative candidate in the riding, declined an interview with CBC North's Cree unit. 

Election day is April 28.