“Tackling Projects Together”: Toquktmekl Agreement

The Epekwitnewaq Mi’kmaq and Parks Canada have been working collaboratively for many years. This agreement formalizes this relationship through a shared governance structure which will provide guidance through a co-management body. Through Toquktmekl, the Epekwitk Assembly of Councils and Parks Canada will cooperate in the planning, management, operation, and in the monitoring and evaluation of Parks Canada-administered lands on PEI.

The specific details on how Toquktmekl will be implemented will be developed over the coming months and years as the co-management board is formed and begins to operate.

A five-person co-management board – Toqi- Alsutekekl^{Footnote 7} will be established to provide advice to the Mi’kmaq Epekwitnewaq Kapmntemuow (the Mi’kmaq Nation Government of PEI made up of Chiefs and Council from Lennox Island and Abegweit First Nations) and Parks Canada Field Unit (on behalf of the Minister) on the integrated stewardship of resources and cultural heritage and the development of economic opportunities through this agreement. 

Toqi- Alsutekekl will be composed of two members appointed by the Mi’kmaq Epekwitnewaq Kapmntemuow, two members appointed by the Minister and a Chair appointed by both in consultation with the other members. It is through the guidance of Toqi- Alsutekekl, its regular meetings, administration and technical committee work, along with the strong partnership between Mi’kmaq Epekwitnewaq Kapmntemuow and Parks Canada, that Toquktmekl will be implemented.

Indigenous practices on the lands, waters, and ice, are lived expressions of Indigenous knowledge and rights. The continuity of these practices ensures that Indigenous knowledge is lived and that Indigenous principles are upheld. Indigenous people consistently describe practices on the lands, waters and ice as necessary to exercise inherent rights and uphold their responsibilities as stewards. These practices represent important ways Indigenous peoples maintain active cultural connections to the lands, waters and ice, thereby supporting cultural continuity. 

Parks Canada collaborates with Indigenous communities and organizations in various ways, including conservation and environmental protection activities, such as species recovery and habitat restoration, weaving Indigenous knowledge through programs, Indigenous Guardians, collaborative approaches to ecological monitoring and restoration, and archaeological monitoring and investigations.

Toquktmekl is a renewable, time-limited agreement to respect and enable traditional activities such as harvesting and other land-based cultural practices in places administered by Parks Canada on PEI. This arrangement supports the weaving of Mi’kmaw knowledge, values, priorities, and principles into sharing the care of these places.  Toquktmekl builds towards the longer-term objective of reconciliation through recognition and implementation of Epekwitnewaq Mikmaq Aboriginal and Treaty Rights.

Practices on the land in protected heritage places often include ceremonies; Indigenous-led conservation activities; place-based learning and knowledge sharing between Elders, youth, knowledge keepers, and community members; and harvesting for food and other purposes. Certain practices may be recognized as Aboriginal rights or treaty rights that are protected by the Canadian Constitution.

Aboriginal rights, including harvesting, are collective rights of distinctive Indigenous societies (First Nations; Inuit; and Métis) that have been recognized and affirmed by Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Harvesting rights are unique to each Indigenous rights-bearing group, and the practices, customs, traditions, and relationships to lands, waters and ice that are integral to their cultures.

The Supreme Court of Canada Marshall decisions in 1999 affirmed Mi’kmaw treaty right to fish, hunt, and gather in pursuit of a moderate livelihood. This right is established in the 1760-61 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which was signed by the Wolastoqey, Mi'kmaq, and Passamaquoddy Nations and the Crown at the time and is legally binding today.  Aboriginal and treaty rights are protected under s.35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Harvesting of plants and animals by Epekwitnewaq Mi’kmaq within Parks Canada-administered places on PEI will be carried out in accordance with the terms of Toquktmekl, applicable law, and harvesting plans negotiated and concluded in accordance with Toquktmekl. 

Harvesting plans will include details such as:

Harvesting as an Indigenous practice is tied to an inherent responsibility to care for and steward the lands, waters and ice. Centred on relationships, respect, and a world view based on interconnectedness, Indigenous people have, as part of their individual and communal responsibilities as stewards, conducted harvesting activities for millennia. Informed by Indigenous knowledge systems and laws, these practices have helped to shape, protect and conserve the natural environment since time immemorial, and they continue to be practiced today within many places now administered by Parks Canada.

In protected heritage places where harvesting activities have been banned for decades, Parks Canada is working with Indigenous governments and communities to reintegrate these practices in alignment with shared conservation objectives. Supporting the renewal of Indigenous peoples’ relationships to lands, waters and ice builds upon existing collaborative relationships between Indigenous partners and Parks Canada and will contribute to the success of initiatives related to biodiversity, conservation, climate change and cultural heritage. In this view, the act of harvesting is an expression of respect and an act of stewardship that supports holistic conservation goals.

The Parks Canada-PEI Resource Conservation team already works closely with Indigenous partners to employ Two-Eyed Seeing—a term for conservation practices that value and incorporate both Indigenous conservation knowledge and Western scientific knowledge – in work undertaken in the field unit Parks Canada and Indigenous partners use this approach to ensure better conservation for future generations and for whole ecosystems.

By supporting Indigenous leadership and self-determination, respecting Indigenous rights, Indigenous knowledge and knowledge systems, we are building a greener and more equitable future.

The cultures and identities of Indigenous peoples are rooted in the land, and honouring connections to place is an important element for actions and outcomes related to reconciliation. The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring Indigenous connections are honoured, and Indigenous rights are respected. 

Toquktmekl advances reconciliation in a concrete and meaningful way: by acknowledging the contributions of the Mi’kmaq, Mi’kmaw history and culture, as well as the special long-standing relationship the Mi’kmaq have with traditional lands and waters on PEI.

Through Toquktmekl, Parks Canada and the recognized governance of the Mi’kmaq Epekwitnewaq Kapmnteuow – represented locally by Chiefs and Council of Lennox Island and Abegweit First Nations, and corporately by the Epekwitk Assembly of Councils as the governance body of the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of PEI and L’nuey^{Footnote 8} ; will co-manage Parks Canada administered places on PEI. Both Lennox Island First Nation and Abegweit First Nation will be represented on the co-management board and will take part in the active co-management going forward. Indigenous Rights Holders will be able to exercise harvesting rights in and engage in collaborative decision-making and shared stewardship of these places.

The Epekwitnewaq Mi’kmaq and Parks Canada have been working together for many years to honour the historic and contemporary Indigenous connections to Parks Canada-administered places, and to share these stories with visitors. 

This work has included revisiting narratives and telling whole stories from different perspectives; for example, including Mi’kmaw heritage in the stories told through interpretive programming and panels throughout Parks Canada-administered sites. 

Other recent collaborative initiatives that visitors may notice during their visits:

• Park Promise: grounded in Indigenous beliefs and sacred teachings, this initiative invites all to tread lightly on the earth and live more sustainably
• Mi’kmaw heritage presentation and interpretation: Mi’kmaw Elders, knowledge keepers, community members and youth share their stories in locations administered by Parks Canada; Mi’kmaw history and culture highlighted throughout Parks Canada-administered places
• Trilingual signage and interpretive panels: Indigenous place names are incorporated into official signage and interpretive displays, reinforcing the collaboration and shared stewardship between Parks Canada and Indigenous peoples

Shared governance arrangements provide ways for Parks Canada and Indigenous peoples to engage in collaborative decision-making for protected heritage places. This enables management informed by Indigenous knowledge, values, and principles, and facilitates the exercise by Indigenous peoples of their rights and responsibilities as stewards of the lands, waters, and ice they have inhabited for millennia.

Shared governance arrangements are an important way for Parks Canada to deliver on Government of Canada commitments to renewed relationships based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership, rooted in the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

The agreement outlines the intention and provides the framework for Parks Canada and the Mi’kmaq Epekwitnewaq Kapmntemuow to continue to work together and share resources. The agreement embodies the shared commitment to ensure ecological integrity and the Epekwitnewaq Mi’kmaq Way of Life are maintained and promoted for the use, benefit, education, and enjoyment of future generations. It provides a framework to recognize and implement Epekwitnewaq Mi’kmaq Peace and Friendship Treaty rights, needs and interests related to cooperative management and shared stewardship of the natural and cultural heritage of Parks Canada administered places on PEI and for collaboration on economic opportunities.

Parks Canada is committed to continuing to work and explore ways to meet the priorities and aspirations of Indigenous partners across the country with respect to healing breaches of the past and advancing reconciliation.  This includes, for example, supporting stewardship of natural and cultural heritage, cooperatively managing environmental and cultural protection, and collaborating on economic opportunities.

Parks Canada and Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) have negotiated and continue to negotiate bilateral agreements with Indigenous governments and communities across the country for the cooperative management of lands under Parks Canada’s administration.

Under its current legislative regime, Parks Canada employs three broad types of shared governance models:

• relationship-building bodies,
• cooperative management and
• consensus management.

Many national historic sites, national parks, and national marine conservation areas are managed cooperatively with Indigenous partners. As of June 2023:

• 20 heritage places have relationship-building structures in place;
• 6 have both relationship building and cooperative management structures;
• 19 have cooperative management structures; and
• 6 heritage places operate under consensus management. 

Examples of current shared governance models include those in Gwaii Haanas (BC), the Torngat Mountains (NL), and Saoyú-ʔehdacho (NT). These agreements provide a framework to implement Indigenous rights, needs and interests related to cooperative management and shared stewardship of the natural and cultural heritage of these places. 

In the Gaspé region of Quebec, time-limited contractual agreements have already been negotiated with Peace and Friendship Treaty Nations including Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk and Nation Micmaq de Gespeg. Toquktmekl is the first agreement of its kind between the Epekwitnewaq Mi’kmaq and Parks Canada.