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Chiefs of four Algonquin First Nations are upset with what they see as Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec’s apparent disinterest in settling a compensation claim for damming a key watershed over the decades.<\/p>\n
The Kichi Z\u012bb\u012b, or Ottawa River, runs through and connects unceded traditional Algonquin territory.<\/p>\n
In July 2024, Abitibiwinni, Kitcisakik, Kitigan Zibi and Lac Simon First Nations signed an agreement with Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec to work on a settlement for the “irreversible consequences” of hydroelectric dams and reservoirs that have been built since 1915 without their consent.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In a news release on Wednesday, the chiefs of those four First Nations said Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec had been slowly pulling back from that work until it ended negotiations altogether this month.<\/p>\n
“We are deeply concerned that Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec 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.<\/p>\n
Other talks<\/p>\n
The news release does not specify which other communities it’s referring to when they ask for fair treatment.<\/p>\n