ST. JOHN’S – Protesters have blockaded a Hydro-Québec work site at a proposed hydroelectric project in traditional Innu territory in Labrador, prompting the utility to suspend its operations in the area.
Jerome Jack was among the demonstrators gathered at the site at Gull Island on Thursday afternoon. Innu people in Labrador, he said, were not properly consulted by the Innu Nation nor Hydro-Québec about the proposed power plant.
He also said Hydro-Québec is offering the Innu too little to make amends for past harms.
“They’re surveying trees, monitoring the river, taking samples and everything, and we didn’t even give a go-ahead about it yet,” Jack said in an interview Thursday about the preliminary work going on at the site.
”(Hydro-Québec) should come to the Innu communities in Labrador and discuss this, man to man, and say, ‘people, how can we help you? How can we fix this problem?’”
Hydro-Québec spokesperson Lynn St-Laurent said the utility is monitoring the situation with a commitment to understanding the demonstrators’ concerns.
“We recognize the cultural, historical, and spiritual importance of the Gull Island territory for Innu communities,” St-Laurent said in an email. “We respect the right of community members to express their concerns.”
Meanwhile, the Innu Nation says there have been public meetings with communities and elders, and there are more to come.
“Innu Nation wants to assure the Innu public that there will be no final agreement without a ratification vote, their consent is required,” said an emailed statement emailed from Grand Chief Simon Pokue. “Innu Nation also welcomes all Innu members to attend the sessions and ask questions.”
Hydro-Québec said earlier this week it was set to begin geotechnical and environmental studies in the area, in preparation for future construction work. The utility announced a tentative agreement last year with Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro that includes plans to build a hydroelectric generating station at Gull Island, along the Churchill River in Labrador.
The power companies are still hammering out binding deals, and Hydro-Québec said in a news release that the studies are “necessary for the signing of the final agreement.”
The Churchill River cuts through the traditional Innu region of Nitassinan, which includes parts of eastern Quebec and much of southern Labrador. Innu from Quebec and Labrador gather each year in September in the Gull Island area, Jack said. They set up hundreds of tents and live there together for about a week.
“There’s games, there’s eating, there’s contests,” he said. “We connect, we bond together and we stay strong.”
Hydro-Québec said last month it had signed an agreement in principle to end a lawsuit launched in 2020 by the Innu Nation in Labrador seeking compensation from the utility for its involvement in building and operating the Churchill Falls hydroelectric station on the Churchill River. The Churchill Falls power plant is jointly owned and operated by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and Hydro-Québec.
As part of the draft agreement, Hydro-Québec said it would make annual payments over 16 years totalling $87 million to a reconciliation fund for the Innu in Labrador, according to a press release. The instalments work out to about $5.4 million a year, split between the two Innu communities in Sheshatshiu, in central Labrador, and Natuashish, along Labrador’s northeast coast.
The reconciliation deal also lays out the terms of Hydro-Québec’s collaboration with Innu Nation on future developments, including the proposed power station at Gull Island.
Jack said the money is not enough to cover such things as health expenses for his people. “It wouldn’t cover anything in the community,” he said. And he accused the Innu Nation of trying to rush the tentative deal through to a final agreement without properly consulting people in the communities.
Hydro-Québec did not say Thursday when work at Gull Island might resume.
“We will continue the dialogue initiated with community representatives to better understand their concerns and to discuss next steps in a spirit of mutual respect,” St-Laurent said.
