Where your federal candidates stand on issues facing Eeyou Istchee

Vanna Blacksmith · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 1:12 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Here's what national candidates person to accidental astir their promises if elected to correspond the Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik-Eeyou riding, and much specifically, Eeyou Istchee. 

The Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik-Eeyou riding is 1 of the largest electoral districts successful Canada. CBC spoke with candidates successful the riding, focusing specifically connected their past accomplishments and plans for Eeyou Istchee.

There are 4 candidates vying to correspond the Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik-Eeyou riding in Parliament. Sylvie Bérubé is moving 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 arsenic MP of the riding since 2019. She says she aims to amended nutrient information for Indigenous communities and code issues similar borderline safety, transportation, and clime change.

She said, contempt Quebec Premier François Legault advocating to velocity up the biology reappraisal process for caller mining and vigor projects, protecting the situation comes archetypal for her.

"We don't want [LNG] here. We don't privation c contamination either. We privation a statement connected the environment, that's what we're asking for," she said. "For nutrient security, successful the Indigenous communities of bluish Quebec it's precise important, it's cardinal to their values. So we person to enactment rapidly for the environment."

When asked whether she had visited Eeyou Istchee during her 5 years arsenic Member of Parliament, she answered alternatively that she went to Nunavik twice.

She says she isn't definite if she volition sojourn Eeyou Istchee during the campaign, owed to a constricted budget. 

"I started successful 2019 and past determination was the pandemic which lasted 2 and a fractional years. So we weren't capable 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 implicit 45 per cent of her votes came from the Jamésie and Abitibi-Témiscamingue regions. 

Liberal candidate, Mandy Gull-Masty, says she intends to put her clip successful speaking to elected members of their communities to perceive astir their circumstantial needs.

She was the archetypal pistillate to clasp the presumption of Grand Chief successful Eeyou Istchee. She resigned from this presumption to tally successful the national election.

"There are truthful galore things going connected astatine the nationalist standard that radical request to wage attraction to, but there's besides a determination representation of what we request to spot present wrong the riding," said Gull-Masty. 

If elected, she says her priorities are to physique stronger relationships with Anishinaabe, Cree, Inuit, and francophone leaders successful the determination riding portion addressing their needs successful Parliament.

"We stock this space, we stock this territory, we stock this riding," said Gull-Masty. "We tin person a stronger program for the territory. And I deliberation that you request that benignant of dependable successful Ottawa to correspond you, bash the enactment for you and propulsion your file."

Thai Dillon Higashihara is a recent governmental subject postgraduate from the University of Toronto. He stepped successful arsenic the NDP campaigner for Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik-Eeyou aft the archetypal campaigner withdrew for idiosyncratic reasons. 

"I deliberation it's a shame that the authorities hasn't done capable to assistance revitalize connection infrastructure successful the area," said Higashihara

Higashihara's determination to correspond this riding is influenced by his grandfather, who helped physique infrastructure in Oujé-Bougoumou, a tiny assemblage in Eeyou Istchee. 

"I deliberation a batch of absorption successful this riding has been truly centred astir Val-d'Or and French culture, which is truly important," said Higashihara. 

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

"The deficiency of existent practice and existent enactment successful bluish infrastructure. I deliberation that the NDP has a immense beardown grounds successful delivering that," said Higashihara. 

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

Election time is April 28.