Hydro-Quebec and the Atikamekw community of Wemotaci have agreed to work on joint projects, an agreement that provides for the withdrawal of the indigenous community’s opposition to the project to export electricity to Massachusetts.
The Wemotaci Atikamekw Council was a member of a coalition of five Indigenous communities opposed to the transmission line project known as New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) to deliver electricity from Quebec to Massachusetts via Maine .
Hydro-Quebec had been asked to abandon its project on pain of prosecution and the coalition had asked the United States Department of Energy to refuse the permit required by the project.
“It is becoming obsolete,” said Adam Jourdain, director general of the Council of Atikamekw of Wemotaci, about the opposition of his community.
According to him, since the arrival of Sophie Brochu at the head of the state company, relations have become possible. “The discourse has changed, it’s almost surprising,” said Adam Jourdain in an interview with Press.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, PRESS ARCHIVES
Sophie Brochu, CEO of Hydro-Québec
The agreement signed Thursday in Wemotaci, Mauricie, provides for discussions between the two parties on the awarding of contracts for the construction or repair of Hydro-Quebec facilities and for the training of the workers required for this work.
Until now, the community had to settle for housekeeping or road maintenance contracts, its spokesperson said.
Different communities
The agreement concerns only the community of Wemotaci. Discussions are underway with other Indigenous communities, coalition members and others, according to Hydro-Quebec.
In addition to the community of Wemotaci, those of Pessamit, Pikogan, Lac Simon and Kitcisakik had very harsh words towards Hydro-Quebec, which they accused of theft.
“We refuse to continue to be robbed,” they said in a brief submitted to the American administration. Our approach is therefore to oppose the sale of what belongs to us in the United States, without our having a say. ”
Indigenous opposition had resonated south of the border, especially in the state of Maine, where the interconnection project is fiercely opposed. Even though it has obtained all the required permits, the project is still entangled in legal challenges and a referendum scheduled for early next month could derail it. Billions of revenues are at stake for Hydro-Quebec.
More recently, the crown corporation also won an even larger contract for the long-term supply of New York. This time, and for the first time in its history, Hydro-Québec has partnered with an Aboriginal community.
The Mohawks of Kahnawake will be co-owners of the Quebec portion (60 kilometers) of the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line which will deliver Quebec electricity to New York. The partnership concluded between Hydro-Québec and the Mohawks provides benefits for the community for 40 years.
The CEO of Hydro-Quebec and the great head of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake participate together in New York, Thursday and Friday, in meetings with the American leaders of the Champlain Hudson project and environmental groups. An editorial meeting with Bloomberg is also on the menu.