Although people in the community were aware negotiations were happening, they were only informed about the deal and the referendum last weekend.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Radio-Canada, band member Marco Bacon said that\u2019s not enough time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a decision to make about our past, our present, our future, and they give us six days?\u201d Bacon said.<\/p>\n
What’s in the deal?<\/p>\n
Radio-Canada obtained a copy of the new agreement, which says that Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec will compensate Pessamit for energy projects carried out on its territory without the community\u2019s consent.<\/p>\n
Under the deal, Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec would pay Pessamit $992 million in compensation over 50 years and the province would pay $632 million over 10 years.<\/p>\n
Picard said the deal could also see Pessamit get additional compensation from Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec beyond those dates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are going to be perpetual payments as long as the dams are there and operating,\u201d Picard said.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783563370_367_default.jpg\")
The Daniel Johnson dam is a Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec project on Pessamit territory that has been the subject of previous lawsuits that this deal would settle with financial compensation. (Marika Wheeler\/CBC News)<\/p>\n
In return, Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec could continue to develop existing hydroelectric facilities and potentially build new dams and wind energy projects on the territory in consultation with the community, and Pessamit could receive additional compensation for each new project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe agreement is very complex, in terms of compensation, resulting benefits, and how it will be applied,\u201d Picard said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, what matters is that, from now on, we are stakeholders in the projects \u2014 stakeholders on an equal footing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The office of Ian Lafreni\u00e8re, minister responsible for relations with First Nations and Inuit, refused to comment other than to say the deal has to be approved by the cabinet. <\/p>\n
Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec also refused to comment.<\/p>\n
What’s the rush?<\/p>\n
The band council has been holding meetings with separate groups of citizens this week to explain the deal, but band member Marie St-Gelais told Radio-Canada that\u2019s not the best way to go about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should be holding a complete information session where the entire community can participate,\u201d St-Gelais said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we can benefit from each other’s questions, and also from the answers to each other’s questions.”<\/p>\n
Picard said the band council has met with roughly 400 members in two days. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a whole information kit. This is the first time we’ve distributed a complete agreement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
“When we talk about transparency, this is it.”<\/p>\n
Picard acknowledged the short time frame wasn\u2019t ideal, but he said the band council wanted to hold the vote before band council elections in August and the provincial election in the fall.<\/p>\n
St-Gelais said election dates don\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a duty to fully understand this agreement for future generations so that we can make informed decisions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783563370_28_default.jpg\")
Band member Marco Bacon said the band council didn’t give enough notice for such a major decision. (Benoit Jobin\/Radio-Canada)<\/p>\n
Bacon said there\u2019s no rush, and that the referendum should be delayed until at least September.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve already experienced referendums, elections, and other agreements that didn’t work out. We have experience with all of that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Concerns over figures, legal recourse<\/p>\n
Bacon and St-Gelais said based on their preliminary reading of the deal, they also have concerns.<\/p>\n
In an online video, the council says the deal could bring in $7 billion to the community over the next 50 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did this $7 billion figure come from? Because when you read the agreement, that figure isn\u2019t there,\u201d St-Gelais said.<\/p>\n
Picard said that $7 billion is an estimate that includes potential revenue for the community if Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec builds new dams on the territory.<\/p>\n
Bacon said the deal prevents Pessamit from launching any future legal action against Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like my community to be among those who stand up for themselves, who think about the Earth instead of thinking about money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that having a territory today is a gift from heaven and a real treasure that\u2019s worth far more than all the money in the world.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The band council for the Innu First Nation of Pessamit, northeast of Quebec City, says it has\u00a0 reached…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":789547,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-789546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=789546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/789547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}