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Members of the Innu First Nation of Pessamit, northeast of Quebec City, voted against a deal that called for more than $2.5 billion in compensation over the next 50 years, in exchange for an end to any legal challenges to hydroelectric development.
The Pessamit Innu band council had put the agreement — which it had negotiated with Hydro-Québec and the provincial government — to a referendum in the community, located less than 60 kilometres southwest of Baie-Comeau on the North Shore.
Of the roughly 3,500 members who were eligible to vote in Sunday’s referendum, 1,287 cast their ballots (roughly 37 per cent). A total of 63 per cent voted against the deal.
Alexis Wawanoloath, the referendum chair, announced the results live on social media following the vote count.
“The Innu of Pessamit have spoken. They do not authorize Chief René Simon to sign the agreement,” Wawanoloath said. “Democracy has spoken.”
Hydro-Québec had hoped this agreement would pave the way for the construction of a hydroelectric dam, the erection of wind turbines and the establishment of electricity transmission lines on the community’s ancestral territory.
The band council had estimated new Hydro-Québec projects could bring in $7 billion to the community over the next 50 years. But that figure was not included in the agreement.
As part of the deal, the community would have been prevented from going to court to challenge future energy projects, which sparked local backlash.
The Daniel Johnson dam is a Hydro-Québec project on Pessamit territory that has been the subject of previous lawsuits that this deal would settle with financial compensation. (Marika Wheeler/CBC)Community ‘feeling very proud,’ local poet says
Members had also expressed discontent at having fewer than 10 days to debate and participate in information sessions on the subject before Sunday’s vote. Given the massive implications of the deal, they argued that wasn’t enough time to adequately review the agreement or seek an independent legal opinion on it.
Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, a poet and artist from Pessamit, thought the short timeline imposed by the band council “felt like a huge lack of respect toward the community,” as well as a “betrayal.”
She would’ve liked to see the community be part of the negotiations from the start, rather than be included at the very end.
Kanapé Fontaine says the council used videos in Innu to explain the short timeline: the current administration dissolves July 15 ahead of an Aug. 17 election, and a provincial vote is looming this fall. Still, she argues those political deadlines are no excuse to rush a deal of this magnitude.
“You wouldn’t hand someone a 50-year contract with only 10 days to review it and ask them to negotiate their salary for the next 50 years in such a short amount of time,” she told Radio-Canada.
Relieved by the referendum results — in which she voted remotely from Montreal — Kanapé Fontaine said the community chose self-determination over a deal many felt would be a “huge loss.”
“People are feeling very proud in my community,” she told CBC.
“The pride people are feeling today comes from being able to say, ‘We stood up to them, to these giants.'”
‘There is still work to be done’
Jérôme Bacon St-Onge, the vice-chief of the Pessamit Innu council, shared a response on Facebook following Sunday’s vote, saying the members’ decision will be fully respected.
His council’s responsibility now, he added, is to “continue its work … to protecting our territory, our rights, and our collective future.”
If the deal had passed, Hydro-Québec would have been required to pay Pessamit $992 million in compensation over 50 years and the province would pay $632 million over 10 years. (Jacob Demers/Radio-Canada)
Premier Christine Fréchette wrote on X Monday morning that her government acknowledges the decision of the Pessamit community and respects it.
“This result shows that there is still work to be done. The Government of Quebec remains convinced that it is possible to conclude a beneficial agreement, both for the Pessamit community and for all Quebecers,” she said.
“We will be able to resume discussions later in a spirit of collaboration and respect in order to build, together, a winning agreement for all.”
Quebec’s Indigenous Affairs Minister Ian Lafrenière also reacted in a statement late Sunday evening, saying he accepts the decision and will meet with community leaders today.
Hydro-Québec shared a statement, as well, saying it respects “the democratic decision of the Pessamit community,” adding that it remains open to dialogue and will continue its discussion with community representatives.
For her part, Pessamit member Kanapé Fontaine believes an agreement is still possible, so long as it genuinely respects her community, “as well as the generations to come, and the land itself.”