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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. <\/p>\n
The Pessamit Innu band council had put the agreement \u2014 which it had negotiated with Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec and the provincial government \u2014 to a referendum in the community, located less than 60 kilometres southwest of Baie-Comeau on the North Shore.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Alexis Wawanoloath, the referendum chair, announced the results live on social media following the vote count. <\/p>\n
“The Innu of Pessamit have spoken. They do not authorize Chief Ren\u00e9 Simon to sign the agreement,” Wawanoloath said. “Democracy has spoken.”\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec 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.<\/p>\n
The band council had estimated new Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec projects could bring in $7 billion to the community over the next 50 years. But that figure was not included in the agreement.<\/p>\n
As part of the deal, the community would have been prevented from going to court to challenge future energy projects, which sparked local backlash.<\/p>\n
![\"Picture](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783996886_302_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)Community ‘feeling very proud,’ local poet says<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Natasha Kanap\u00e9 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.” <\/p>\n
She would’ve liked to see the community be part of the negotiations from the start, rather than be included at the very end. <\/p>\n
Kanap\u00e9 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. <\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Relieved by the referendum results \u2014 in which she voted remotely from Montreal \u2014 Kanap\u00e9 Fontaine said the community chose self-determination over a deal many felt would be a “huge loss.” <\/p>\n
“People are feeling very proud in my community,” she told CBC.<\/p>\n
“The pride people are feeling today comes from being able to say, ‘We stood up to them, to these giants.'” <\/p>\n
‘There is still work to be done’<\/p>\n
J\u00e9r\u00f4me Bacon St-Onge, the vice-chief of the Pessamit Innu council, shared a response on Facebook<\/a> following Sunday’s vote, saying the members’ decision will be fully respected. <\/p>\n His council’s responsibility now, he added, is to “continue its work \u2026 to protecting our territory, our rights, and our collective future.”<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783996887_198_default.jpg\")
If the deal had passed, Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec 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)<\/p>\n