First Nations face an uphill battle getting revenues from Hydro-Québec – iPolitics

Apr 6, 2021

A coalition of First Nations from Quebec, Labrador, and Maine is opposing a proposed transmission line to carry Hydro-Québec electricity to New England, on the grounds that 36 per cent of Hydro-Québec’s energy is “stolen” from the First Nations on whose territory the electricity is produced, and that the transmission line will have an adverse environmental impact in Maine.

The Penobscot Nation of Maine, the Innu Nation of Labrador, and Quebec’s First Nations of Pessamit (Innu), Wemotaci (Atikamekw), Pikogan, Kitcisakik, and Lac Simon (Anishnabek), have asked U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to cancel approvals of the line.

In selling the power to New England, the Quebec utility is ignoring “the ancestral rights of the communities in question,” as recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada and Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution, the coalition argues.

Read More: https://ipolitics.ca/2021/04/06/first-nations-face-an-uphill-battle-getting-revenues-from-hydro-quebec/