Romeo Saganash: implementing UNDRIP through Bill C-262 and being a Cree jurist and politician
The Indigenous Law Association welcomes the Hon. Romeo Saganash, MP for Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou.
About the Speaker
Romeo Saganash, MP for Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou since 2011, is a a member of the NDP and was the first Aboriginal MP elected in Quebec.
In his time in office, Romeo has served as NDP critic for Energy and Natural Resources, International Development, and as deputy critic for Intergovernmental Aboriginal Affairs.
Romeo was born in 1961 in Waswanipi. In 1985, at the age of 23, he founded the Cree National Youth Council. He became involved in the economic development of his region working with businesses such as Creeco Inc. and the Eeyou Society of James Bay. In 1989, Romeo became the first Cree graduate to obtain a Bachelor of Law in Quebec. Between 1990 and 1993, he was Deputy Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees and then Vice-Chairman of the Cree Regional Authority.
Beginning in 1993, he was Director of Quebec Relations and International Affairs for the Grand Council of the Crees. In 1997, he chaired the James Bay Advisory Committee on the Environment. In 2003, he received an award of recognition from UQAM for his role in the negotiations that led to the signing of the Paix des Braves on February 7, 2002, between the Quebec government and the Grand Council of the Crees.
On April 21, Saganash. the NDP’s critic for Intergovernmental Indigenous Affairs, tabled legislation to ensure that the laws of Canada respect the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. MP Saganash spent 23 years at the United Nations negotiating the Declaration which was endorsed by Canada in 2010.
