AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE JAMES BAY AND NORTHERN QUÉBEC AGREEMENT ON HOUSING IN NUNAVIK This day of, 2015 BETWEEN: MAKIVIK CORPORATION, a corporation incorporated by An Act respecting the Makivik Corporation (C.Q.L.R., c. S-18.1), acting herein on behalf of Québec Inuit and on its own behalf, through its duly authorized representative hereinafter referred to as Makivik AND: The KATIVIK REGIONAL GOVERNMENT, a body formed under the Act respecting Northern Villages and the Kativik Regional Government (C.Q.L.R., c. V-6.1), duly authorized to act herein on its own behalf and to sign this agreement; and duly authorized to act herein and sign this agreement on behalf of the 14 northern villages of the Kativik Region, corporations incorporated under the same Act hereinafter referred to as the KRG AND: THE KATIVIK MUNICIPAL HOUSING BUREAU, a legal person duly incorporated under the Act respecting the Société d habitation du Québec (C.Q.L.R., c. S-8), acting herein on its own behalf through its duly authorized representative hereinafter referred to as the KMHB AND: The GOUVERNEMENT DU QUÉBEC, represented by le Ministre des Affaires municipales et de l Occupation du territoire, par le Ministre responsable des Affaires intergouvernementales canadiennes et de la Francophonie canadienne and par le Ministre responsable des Affaires autochtones hereinafter referred to as Québec AND: The GOVERNMENT OF CANADA, represented by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development hereinafter referred to as Canada HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS THE Parties WHEREAS Canada and Makivik recognize that this agreement resolves any dispute related to housing services under the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement (JBNQA), which was subject to the dispute resolution mechanism set out in the Agreement respecting the Implementation of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement between her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada and Makivik Corporation (JBNQA Implementation Agreement (1990)); WHEREAS the Parties are committed to establishing a unified system within the meaning of section 29.0.40 of the JBNQA;
WHEREAS, on March 15, 2010, the Parties entered into a five-year agreement, from fiscal years 2010 11 to 2014 15, to build Inuit housing in the Kativik Region, which agreement provided for negotiations for its renewal; WHEREAS, in compliance with section 7.2 of the March 2010 agreement, the Parties agree to renew it by this Agreement; WHEREAS, the Parties agree to enter into an interim agreement for the 2015 16 fiscal year essentially on the same terms and conditions as the March 2010 agreement; WHEREAS the Parties acknowledge the importance of taking advantage of the construction, operation and maintenance of housing to enable Inuit to acquire new skills, while promoting workforce training and job creation for Inuit, as well as providing other economic benefits for Inuit communities; WHEREAS, on September 15, 2005, Québec, with the participation and on the initiative of the Société d habitation du Québec (SHQ), and with the agreement of the KRG and the KMHB, implemented a new rent scale for all social housing in the Kativik Region. This rent scale is being gradually introduced in the Kativik Region, and its impacts are being evaluated, which may result in it being revised. NOW, THEREFORE, THE PARTIES AGREE AS FOLLOWS: 1. Definitions The following definitions apply to this Agreement: 1.1 capital costs : 1.1.1 cost of preparing housing construction sites; 1.1.2 cost of purchasing prefabricated housing units, including transport, packing and assembly costs on the worksite or the cost of purchasing construction materials, including transport, packing and storage costs; 1.1.3 labour costs for construction and assembly; 1.1.4 municipal building permit costs; 1.1.5 cost of insurance for the transport of construction materials or prefabricated housing units, as well as for construction and assembly; 1.1.6 professional fees and expenses associated with the calls for tenders, design, construction and purchase of housing units; 1.1.7 costs incurred to obtain guarantees under the Regulation respecting the Guarantee Plan for New Residential Buildings adopted under the Building Act (C.Q.L.R., c. B-1.1); 1.1.8 cost of purchasing, transporting and installing stoves and refrigerators; 1.1.9 although the following are not actual capital costs, Canada recognizes, for each housing unit built, management and administration costs equal to 5% of construction costs in the case of housing built by Makivik, and 2% otherwise; 2
1.1.10 accrued interest charges on materials previously purchased and on labour prior to April 1 of a given fiscal year and prior to the construction season; 1.1.11 interest charged due to a temporary shortage of cash as a result of the payment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the Québec Sales Tax (QST), which qualify as capital expenses. 1.2 Inuit beneficiary : individual eligible to be enrolled as a beneficiary under Section 3A of the JBNQA, as amended by the coming into force of Complementary Agreement No.18, dated June 15, 2006. 1.3 contribution : a conditional transfer payment for a specific purpose, subject to being accounted for and audited to determine whether it has been used according to the payment allocation conditions, and for which any unexpended balances and ineligible expenses must be reimbursed to Canada. 1.4 operating expenses : real eligible expenses for each housing unit, in so far as they can be identified, and a proportionate share of the housing portfolio costs in the following categories: 1.4.1 cost of taxes and nominal rent for the land; 1.4.2 cost of insurance; 1.4.3 maintenance costs; 1.4.4 management and training costs; 1.4.5 heating costs; 1.4.6 electricity costs; 1.4.7 cost of supplying drinking water and disposing of wastewater; 1.4.8 cost of household garbage collection and disposal; 1.4.9 cost of modernization, improvements and renovations. 1.5 housing : social housing constructed under this Agreement for Inuit in Nunavik. 1.6 fiscal year : the one-year period from April 1 to March 31. 2. Funding 2.1 Funding from Canada 2.1.1 Canada agrees to pay, for the 2015 16 fiscal year, the amount of $20,197,467 to cover capital costs for the construction of housing in the Kativik Region. 2.1.2 Canada s funding under this Agreement shall be paid to Makivik in the form of a contribution, on April 1, 2015, or as soon as possible after this date. 2.2 Funding from Québec 2.2.1 Québec agrees to pay directly to the KMHB or any successor organization, over a 15 year period, the difference between the operating costs for each 3
housing unit and the rental income collected for the unit, starting on the initial date of occupancy of the unit concerned. 3. Provisions affecting Makivik 3.1 Makivik shall only apply the payment made under this Agreement to the capital costs. 3.2 Makivik shall spend any interest income generated by Canada s contribution under this Agreement to build housing. 3.3 When building housing, Makivik shall follow trade practices and comply with or exceed the building standards, codes and requirements of Canada, Québec and the SHQ. 3.4 Once a housing unit is completed, Makivik shall transfer ownership thereof to the KMHB for one dollar. 4. Provisions concerning Québec programs 4.1 This Agreement is in addition to, but does not amend, existing or future Québec housing programs that apply to the Kativik Region, particularly the Home Ownership and Renovation Program for the Kativik Region, the Affordable Housing Québec Program, Kativik Region Section, the Home Renovation Program for Owner-Occupiers in the Kativik Region, and the Remote Housing Program. 5. Kativik Region Housing Committee 5.1 A Kativik Region Housing Committee (KHC) has been created. It consists of two Canada representatives, two Québec representatives, one Makivik representative, one KRG representative and one KMHB representative. The KHC shall meet three times a year, and its role is to follow, advise and assist the Parties in implementing this Agreement. 5.2 The KHC may suggest to the Parties any initiatives and measures that ensure financial resources granted under this Agreement are used in ways that, on the one hand, the housing constructed by Makivik and managed by the KMHB is optimal in quantity and quality (within the meaning of paragraph 3.3) and, on the other hand, that it enables Inuit to acquire skills, while promoting workforce training and job creation and providing other long-term economic benefits for Kativik Region Inuit. 6. Reports and exchange of information 6.1 Subject to applicable access to information and privacy legislation, the Parties shall collect, keep, share and disclose, in a timely manner, information that is reasonably necessary to implement, follow up on and renew this Agreement. 6.2 Before July 29 of 2016, Makivik shall make available to the Parties detailed, duly audited, annual financial statements showing capital costs incurred for Inuit housing during the previous fiscal year. This audit shall certify that Makivik used all the interest income generated by the funding contribution for the construction of Inuit housing, as required by paragraph 3.2. 4
Makivik shall make available to the KHC the planning details and information stipulated in Appendix A, in keeping with the timelines indicated therein. 6.3 The KHC shall agree on the information to be provided by the KMHB, which is necessary to follow up on the implementation of this Agreement. 6.4 Before May 31 of 2016, Québec, through the SHQ, shall provide the other Parties with detailed, duly audited, annual financial statements showing the operating costs, the rental income and the funding allocated to housing in the previous year. 7. Undertaking to participate in a renewal process 7.1 The Parties shall start negotiating a new agreement to replace this Agreement 10 days following the execution of the present Agreement and shall make every reasonable effort to reach a renewal agreement in time to avoid causing delay to the 2016 Nunavik housing construction season. 7.2 The present Agreement is intended by the parties to constitute an interim agreement for the 2015-16 fiscal year based essentially on the March 2010 five-year agreement. Moreover, the parties agree to use the March 2010 agreement generally as the basis and starting point in any negotiations towards the next five year housing agreement. 8. Dispute resolution 8.1 The Parties shall first submit any dispute related to the implementation of this Agreement to the KHC, which must make every reasonable effort to resolve it through discussion and an out-of-court settlement. This by no means prevents Canada and Makivik from subsequently using the dispute resolution mechanism stipulated in Appendix H of the Agreement concerning the Implementation of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement between her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada and Makivik Corporation (JBNQA Implementation Agreement 1990). 9. Acknowledgement 9.1 On condition that Canada performs all its obligations under this Agreement, including the negotiation of a renewal agreement, it is deemed to have fulfilled all its housing obligations under the JBNQA for the term of this Agreement. 9.2 On condition that Québec performs all its obligations under this Agreement, including the negotiation of a renewal agreement, it is deemed to have fulfilled all its housing obligations under the JBNQA for the term of this Agreement. 10. Final provisions 10.1 No member of the House of Commons, the Canadian Senate or the National Assembly of Québec may participate in any contract or agreement reached, receive a commission hereunder or receive benefits that could result from this Agreement. 10.2 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, any funding granted hereunder must receive authorization for budgetary allocations from the Parliament of Canada and the National Assembly of Québec. 10.3 The Parties expressly acknowledge that this Agreement in no way amends or overrides the JBNQA and that, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, 5
nothing in this Agreement in any way affects the application of sections 2.11 and 2.12 of the JBNQA. The Parties furthermore expressly acknowledge that nothing in this Agreement constitutes a supplementary amending agreement or a complementary agreement within the meaning of section 4 of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Native Claims Settlement Act (S.C. 1976-77, c. 32), section 3 of the Act Approving the Agreement concerning James Bay and Northern Québec (C.Q.L.R., c. C-67) or section 2.15 of the JBNQA. The Parties agree that this Agreement is a contract between the Parties aimed to implement certain housing provisions of the JBNQA. Moreover, this Agreement is not an agreement or a treaty within the meaning of section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, and must not be construed in any way to abrogate or derogate from, negate or recognize an ancestral right, a treaty right or any other Aboriginal right. 10.4 This Agreement does not affect the provisions of the agreement signed respectively by Québec and Canada on February 10, 1981, and February 13, 1981. 10.5 Canada and Québec are making this Agreement in keeping with any housing obligation they may have under the JBNQA. 10.6 There will be English, French and Inuktitut versions of this Agreement. The English and French versions will be authoritative. 10.7 There may be one or more copies of this Agreement, and each duly signed copy is deemed to be an original. Notwithstanding the signature date, each copy shall be considered to be one single instrument, and shall be presumed to have been signed on the date of this Agreement. 10.8 This Agreement shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of Québec and any law of Canada that may apply. 6
IN WITNESS WHEREOF THE PARTIES SIGNED: For Makivik Jobie Tukkiapik President Makivik Corporation For the Kativik Regional Government and on behalf of the 14 northern villages in the Kativik Region Maggie Emudluk Chairperson Kativik Regional Government Ina Gordon Secretary Kativik Regional Government For the Kativik Municipal Housing Bureau Daniel Oovaut President Kativik Municipal Housing Bureau For Québec Sylvain Boucher Sous-ministre Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l Occupation du territoire Michel Gagnon Président-directeur général Société d habitation du Québec Yves Castonguay, Secrétaire général associé Secrétariat aux Affaires intergouvernementales canadiennes 7
Michel Létourneau, Secrétaire général associé Secrétariat aux Affaires autochtones For Canada Natalie Neville Director Treaty Management East Implementation Branch Treaties and Aboriginal Government Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development 8
Appendix A PLANNING DETAILS AND INFORMATION The following will be made available to the KHC. 2015-16 housing construction plan Within 10 days following the execution of this Agreement, Makivik, in cooperation with the KMHB, shall submit a plan for the construction of Inuit housing for the year covered by the Agreement, specifying the total number of units to be built and their size. The one -year plan Makivik submits to the KHC, in cooperation with the KMHB, shall be submitted for the approval of the SHQ and Canada. The SHQ and Canada shall have 15 days from the plan submission date to communicate their decision, failing which the plan is deemed to be approved. Annual housing construction plan Within 10 days following the execution of this Agreement, Makivik and the KMHB, in cooperation with the KRG, shall submit a plan specifying the number, size and location of the housing units to be built during the coming fiscal year. Amendments to the housing construction plan shall be explained in the annual construction plan. Where amendments made to the one-year housing construction plan affect Canada s or Québec s financial contribution, they shall be approved by the SHQ and Canada. Annual housing construction report Before June 1, 2016, Makivik shall submit a report on the number, size and location of the housing units built during the 2015-16 fiscal year. Annual employment and training report Before June 1, 2016 Makivik shall submit a report on the 2015-16 construction year, which will provide relevant information regarding skill acquisition and job creation for Nunavik s Inuit under this Agreement. 9