The National Post reports that, “The Innu of Uashat Mani-Utenam, near Sept-Iles (on Quebec’s Lower North Shore), want a permanent injunction to stop the construction of the Romaine project, a $6.5-billion plan to build four dams along the Romaine River and produce 1,550-megawatts of power starting in 2020.”
“Last May, Premier Jean Charest announced the undertaking, which is among the largest infrastructure projects in Canada. Charest said the new project is crucial to secure Quebec’s energy supply, but his government has made it clear any extra power will be offered for export to Ontario, Eastern Canada and the United States.”
“In documents filed with the Quebec Superior Court and the Federal Court, lawyers for the plaintiffs contend a huge portion of the Romaine project, notably the transmission lines, is going to be built on what they consider the backbone of their traditional Innu territory. The native group says it has not been consulted nor given its consent to the project and the governments are infringing on their ancestral rights on the territory.”
“The Innu add that the four dams will have negative impacts on the territory, the ecosystem and their way of life, notably their fishing and hunting traditions.”
“The native community is also asking the courts to force the provincial and federal governments to redo their environmental-assessment process of the project to include the construction of the transmission lines.”
“The action filed in Quebec Superior Court is against Hydro-Quebec, the Quebec environment minister, the Quebec attorney general and Canada’s attorney general. The Innu have filed two legal proceedings in Federal Court, one against the transport minister and another one against the environment minister and minister of fisheries and oceans.”
The full article is at http://www.nationalpost.com/m/story.html?id=1963852&s=Home.
