Held in October 2006, the First Nations Economic Forum in Mashteuiatsh was a meeting and exchange forum where gathered First Nations and Inuit, the civil society, and the governments of Québec and Canada. The Forum aimed to sit at the same table all the stakeholders concerned with issues of First Nations of Québec social and economic development and lay the foundation for actions that would improve the living conditions of First Nations in Québec.

The Forum also aimed to clarify the issues related to the development of First Nations as well as draft propositions and define concrete actions to improve the social and economic conditions of First Nations. Finally, it aimed to establish a permanent structure that would allow the rapid implementation and efficient follow-up of actions agreed upon, all this while maintaining harmonious and respectful relations.

A vast consultation process was therefore held on four major themes that summarized the true needs of First Nations: economy and employment; education and culture; health, social services and early childhood services, and, finally, infrastructures et sustainable community development.

The main objective of the First Nations Socioeconomic Forum was to undertake and support a series of actions and measures that would allow for concrete, efficient and sustainable improvement of the social and economic conditions of First Nations members.

Commitments of the RCAAQ

The core objective was, and still is, for the Regroupement des centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec (RCAAQ) to improve the quality of life of First Nations citizens in urban settings and off reserve, conditional to the deployment of efforts to fight against poverty and social exclusion. In relation to this core objective, the Regroupement des centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec developed eleven (11) commitments in terms of economy, employment, education, youth, governance, health, etc. that keep evolving.

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First nations socioeconomic forum - urban and off-community issues