“Historic” deal with Quebec greeted with skepticism in Pessamit

Hydro-Québec's big boss, Michael Sabia, acknowledged Thursday that the state company has not acted adequately in the past by launching projects that have left deep traces in the Pessamite community. He just signed a “historic” framework agreement that will lead to a 1,000 megawatt-hour wind project in Innu territory.

“No”, Mr Sabia is not apologizing, she clarified in an exchange with journalists. “But it is necessary to recognize and understand the impact of some of our projects built in the past. » Does this mean that Hydro-Québec has not worked well enough in the past? “From the perspective of 2024, I would say yes,” agreed the president and CEO of Crown Corporation.

Mr. Sabia just signed a $45 million framework agreement over six years with Pessamit head Mariel Vachon and Quebec Prime Minister Francois Legault. According to documents provided by the band council, the aim is to create an “equal partnership” with Hydro-Québec in the Innu territory, whose operating capacity is “between 400 and 1000 megawatt hours and above”. By 2022, Mr. Legault said he wants to build wind farms with a total capacity of 3,000 megawatts.

The Prime Minister was pleased that Pessamit and Hydro-Québec were entering a “new era”. The parties agreed on a two-year truce. During the negotiations Quebec undertook not to raise the level of the Manicougan Reservoir. The association is discontinuing a series of legal actions brought against Quebec.

“Get rich off our backs”

Any agreement reached at the end of the negotiations will be subject to consultation with the Pessamit population. And with good reason: residents of this town of 2,400, located halfway between Forestville and Baie-Comeau, are eagerly awaiting representatives from Hydro-Québec and the government.

Pessamit has 13 hydroelectric power stations and 16 dams in its territory, built without consultation with the Innu. But today, “it doesn't work like it used to,” Pessamit councilor Christine Valli told Mr Sabia, her vocal organisation.

“For 70 years, they've been getting rich off our backs. For 70 years, all these years have been on the area Nitassinan. They make electricity work with all our resources. There is something wrong with that,” she later said destiny. With the framework agreement, “we get a lot,” Chef Vachon underlined. “We are listening through the government, whereas earlier, it was not done. […] Now they know what to expect. “I never make threats, but I know how to stand up to governments and to Hydro-Québec,” she said.

The flooding of the Pessamit territory by Hydro-Québec, and especially its cemetery, left deep marks on the community. “It's been years since there were any discussions, disagreements, fights,” Prime Minister Legault stressed. ” [Ici], the Pessamit had not started negotiations for ten years, it had failed earlier, so no one thought it would be easy. »

In the living room, the elder Jean-Marie Bacon illustrates this with an eloquent example. The Prime Minister last visited his community in 1957, he said. The head of government was called Maurice Duplessis.

A pattern to reproduce

The presence of government and Hydro-Québec representatives has opened up rifts in the community, admits Ian Lafreniere, the minister responsible for relations with First Nations and Inuit. “People were scared. It's an understandable reaction,” he said. He himself has been working on this file since summer. “The first time I came here, there, with the chef, it was not easy. Frankly, I didn't think we would come to an agreement,” he admitted.

Residents concerned about the deal were invited to an informational meeting in the evening hours after the dignitary-led ceremony. They hold it against the band council, which did not present the contract to them before signing it. “What concerns me is that we don't have a say in this,” explained resident Malcolm Riverin. A woman was also applauded after pleading on the microphone for the protection of the ancestral rights of the Innu. “There is no transfer of rights,” Chef Vachon also insisted to the media a little earlier.

In 2018, the CAQ leader said that agreements such as Peace of the Brave should be reached with each of Quebec's indigenous nations. He reiterated this commitment on Thursday as well. “We want to reconcile and have agreements to carry out projects together in the territory we share. »

On several occasions, Michael Sabia said he wanted to address “the issues of the past”, without saying much. “There will be opportunities to work in real partnership with the community,” he said. François Legault clarified that the 45 million granted by Quebec “is not a contribution to the settlement of old conflicts with Hydro-Québec or a possible partnership”. “It's really about helping the community,” says Pessamit, who is particularly struggling with housing shortages.

With Sebastian Tanguay

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