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MONTREAL – First Nations members are weighing in on the debate over Quebec independence — a hot topic so far in the provincial election campaign.

The head of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador says his people have the right to determine their own future and aren’t bound to the result of another referendum vote.

Ghislain Picard says it’s useless to talk about Quebec sovereignty while there’s still uncertainty about the place of aboriginal peoples.

Similar concerns were raised in the lead up to the last referendum in 1995.

Sovereignty has been a major focus of the election since media baron Pierre Karl Peladeau joined the Parti Quebecois last Sunday and declared he wants to help make Quebec a country.

PQ Leader Pauline Marois has, however, steered away from the issue in recent days.

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If the PQ succeeds in getting a majority in the April 7 vote and works toward calling another referendum, Picard says First Nations will take steps to protect the interests of their members.

“We have the right to self-determination and this right is not negotiable,” Picard said in a statement released late Friday.

“Let us be even more clear: Quebec can decide what it wants in terms of its culture, its identity and its development, but it cannot claim sovereignty over a territory which is still, fundamentally, First Nation.”