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MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes says short-term licence extensions are an option if a deal isn\u2019t struck in time.<\/p>\n
There is no timeline for the licence renewals, said Environment Minister Mike Moyes. He said that would be dependent on consultations with impacted First Nations.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes discussions take longer, sometimes they\u2019re shorter,\u201d he said. \u201cIt really depends on how\u2026 this process unrolls.\u201d<\/p>\n
Letters were sent to some First Nations two weeks ago and more will reach communities in the coming weeks, a government spokesperson said. The letters ask First Nations how they\u2019d like to be consulted, Moyes said.<\/p>\n
He wouldn\u2019t say if the government is considering short-term licence extensions for the two projects but noted it\u2019s an option. Last November, Manitoba Hydro requested five-year extensions.<\/p>\n
Some Indigenous communities are against the extensions, saying they perpetuate a harmful status quo and hurt the environment and their traditional way of life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always are going to make sure that Manitobans can rely on Manitoba Hydro, that the lights are going to be on,\u201d Moyes said. \u201cAt the same time, we want to make sure that we\u2019re having really good consultations with First Nation communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leslie Dysart, the appointed lead of Manitoba Hydro issues for O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation, said Tuesday he wasn\u2019t aware of incoming consultations.<\/p>\n
The community of roughly 1,100 people has felt a \u201ctremendous, devastating effect\u201d because of the Churchill River Diversion, Dysart said.<\/p>\n
Fishing on South Indian Lake, a key part of the diversion, was once the First Nation\u2019s economic boon. Now, the white fish populations are marginal compared to decades past, and just a dozen locals fish for trade, Chief Shirley Ducharme said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven with the trappers \u2014 there\u2019s not very many trappers now,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a trading post, but now, it\u2019s so hard to go to the trap lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most band members rely on income assistance, which is \u201cinsufficient\u201d with inflation. The number of residents exceeds the jobs available in the community, Ducharme said.<\/p>\n
Other First Nations \u2014 including Tataskweyak and Pimicikamak \u2014 and the Manitoba M\u00e9tis Federation have expressed concerns about environmental and social impacts of the Hydro projects.<\/p>\n
Some grievances are appearing in lawsuits: Hydro has faced a slew from First Nations over the past year. In the most recent, Norway House Cree Nation is suing Hydro and the provincial and federal governments over Lake Winnipeg water level <\/a>manipulation<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have to do away with this 50-year licensing,\u201d said Doreen Spence, chief of Tataskweyak Cree Nation.<\/p>\n The Churchill River Diversion and Lake Winnipeg Regulation projects became operational in 1976. Environmental damage has accumulated over the decades, Spence said, adding the lake sturgeon population Tataskweyak members once fished from is nearly gone.<\/p>\n Tataskweyak hired scientists to study the impact of Hydro\u2019s Missi Falls control structure on the Churchill River roughly six years ago.<\/p>\n Spence, in a Free Press op-ed<\/a> earlier this month, called for Missi Falls to mimic the natural rhythm of the river and for Hydro to stop creating \u201cdramatically low flows and sudden historically high rushes of water.\u201d<\/p>\n Dysart echoed her, saying Manitoba Hydro should follow lake operation parameters set in 1973, so water levels wouldn\u2019t fluctuate so dramatically.<\/p>\n \u201cThat would still allow Manitoba Hydro to generate power but would bring stability to our environment, and hopefully some well-being,\u201d Dysart said.<\/p>\n Issuing short-term licences continues environmental destruction, Dysart said, adding O-Pipon-Na-Piwin hasn\u2019t been adequately compensated for damages.<\/p>\n Manitoba Hydro will continue to operate under current licence terms until instructed otherwise, spokesman Peter Chura wrote in an email. Hydro hasn\u2019t requested changes to either project\u2019s operating parameters.<\/p>\n The Crown utility engages with communities affected by its projects on an ongoing basis; discussions can address the effects of hydroelectric development, Chura wrote.<\/p>\n The province must consult Indigenous groups under Section 35 of Canada\u2019s Constitution Act before renewing the licences.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cPrevious governments did not do proper engagement, they did not do proper consultation,\u201d Moyes said. \u201cWe were looking for a way to bring in a new approach.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to having (discussions) on a government-to-government basis, really trying to work through and mitigate the impacts to the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n The province is having \u201cconstructive conversations\u201d with Indigenous communities about economic participation, including in the energy sector. Discussions about sharing Manitoba Hydro revenues with First Nations are \u201cbeing had,\u201d Moyes said.<\/p>\n Manitoba Hydro\u2019s 10-year plan includes procuring wind power from Indigenous-owned businesses.<\/p>\n gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
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