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Chiefs of four Algonquin First Nations are upset with what they see as Hydro-Québec’s apparent disinterest in settling a compensation claim for damming a key watershed over the decades.
The Kichi Zībī, or Ottawa River, runs through and connects unceded traditional Algonquin territory.
In July 2024, Abitibiwinni, Kitcisakik, Kitigan Zibi and Lac Simon First Nations signed an agreement with Hydro-Québec to work on a settlement for the “irreversible consequences” of hydroelectric dams and reservoirs that have been built since 1915 without their consent.
They singled out reservoirs such as the Baskatong and Cabonga, some of them near route 117 between Mont-Laurier and the Val d’Or area.
In a news release on Wednesday, the chiefs of those four First Nations said Hydro-Québec had been slowly pulling back from that work until it ended negotiations altogether this month.
“We are deeply concerned that Hydro-Québec appears to reserve meaningful dialogue for communities whose territories are strategically important to its future energy projects, while excluding from any serious process those communities that have endured historical harms but offer less short-term energy development potential,” said Kitigan Zibi Chief Jean-Guy Whiteduck.
Other talks
The news release does not specify which other communities it’s referring to when they ask for fair treatment.
The chiefs are speaking out after members of the Innu First Nation of Pessamit voted against a deal earlier this month that called for more than $2.5 billion in compensation over the next 50 years from Hydro-Québec and the province.
Hydro-Québec had hoped that agreement would pave the way for significant construction on the community’s ancestral territory.
In a French statement to Radio-Canada, Hydro-Québec said the principles that guide its discussions with Indigenous communities include fair treatment, and said it has negotiated respectfully and made progress.
Both sides said they’re willing to resume discussions.