A “historic” agreement with Quebec greeted with skepticism in Pessamit

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Looking back, the big boss of Hydro-Québec, Michael Sabia, recognizes that the state company did not act adequately in the past by launching projects that left deep traces in the community of Pessamit. He had just signed a “historic” framework agreement that could lead to a 1,000 megawatt-hour wind project on Innu territory.

“No”, Mr. Sabia is not apologizing, the latter clarified in an exchange with journalists. “But it’s a matter of recognizing and understanding the impact of some of our projects built in the past. » Does this mean that Hydro-Québec did not act adequately in the past? “From the perspective of 2024, I think I would say yes,” agreed the president and CEO of the Crown corporation.

Mr. Sabia had just signed, with the head of Pessamit, Marielle Vachon, and the Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault, a framework agreement of $45 million over six years. This aims in particular to create “an equal partnership” with Hydro-Québec on the Innu territory, whose operating capacity is “between 400 and 1000 megawatt hours and more”, according to documents provided by the band council. In 2022, Mr. Legault said he wanted to build wind farms with a total power of 3,000 megawatts.

Pessamit and Hydro-Québec are entering “a new era,” rejoiced the Prime Minister. The parties agreed on a two-year truce. Quebec undertakes not to raise the level of the Manicouagan reservoir during the negotiations. The community is putting on hold the series of legal proceedings it has brought against Quebec.

“Get rich off our backs”

Any agreement reached at the end of the negotiations will be subject to consultation with the population of Pessamit. And for good reason: the residents of this town of 2,400 people, located halfway between Forestville and Baie-Comeau, awaited the representatives of Hydro-Québec and the government firmly.

Pessamit has 13 hydroelectric power stations and 16 dams on its territory, built without consultation with the Innu. But today, “it no longer works like it used to,” Pessamit councilor Christine Vallée told Mr. Sabia, her tone firm.

“For 70 years, they have been getting rich off our backs. For 70 years, they have been on Nitassinan, the territory of all the Innu. They make the electricity work with all our resources. There is something that doesn’t work there,” she then told Le Devoir. With the framework agreement, “we gain a lot,” underlined Chef Vachon. “We are listened to by the government, whereas before, that was not done. […] They know what to expect now. I never make threats, but I know how to stand up in front of governments and in front of Hydro-Québec,” she said.

The flooding of the Pessamit territory by Hydro-Québec, and especially of its cemetery, left deep marks in the community. “It’s been several years since there were any negotiations, conflicts, squabbles,” underlined Prime Minister Legault. “ [Ici], in Pessamit, there had not been the start of a negotiation for ten years, and before that it had failed, so there was no one who thought it would be easy. »

In the room, elder Jean-Marie Bacon illustrated this with an eloquent example. The last time he had seen a prime minister visit his community, he said, was in 1957. The head of government was called Maurice Duplessis.

A model to reproduce

The presence of representatives of the government and Hydro-Québec opened scars in the community, agreed the minister responsible for Relations with First Nations and Inuit, Ian Lafrenière. “People were scared. It’s a reaction that needs to be understood,” he said. He himself has been working on this file since the summer. “The first times I came here, there, with the chef, it wasn’t easy. To put it clearly, I didn’t think we would reach an agreement,” he admitted.

Residents, concerned about the agreement, were invited to an information meeting in the evening, a few hours after the ceremony in which dignitaries participated. They had it against the band council, which did not present the agreement to them before signing it. “What worries me is that we don’t have a say in this,” explained resident Malcolm Riverin. A woman was also applauded after pleading, on the microphone, for the maintenance of ancestral rights of the Innu. “There is no transfer of rights,” Chef Vachon had also stressed to the media a little earlier.

In 2018, the CAQ leader said he wanted to seal agreements such as the Peace of the Brave with each of the indigenous nations of Quebec. He repeated this commitment on Thursday. “What we want is to reconcile and have agreements where, together, we will carry out projects on a territory that we share. »

On several occasions, Michael Sabia said he wanted to resolve “issues from the past”, without wanting to say more. “There will be opportunities to work in a real partnership with the community,” he maintained. The 45 million granted by Quebec are not “a settlement of old conflicts with Hydro-Québec nor a contribution for a possible partnership,” clarified François Legault. “It’s really to help the community” of Pessamit, which is struggling in particular with a housing shortage.

With Sébastien Tanguay

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