(Quebec) The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador is asking the Quebec government to be a shareholder in Hydro-Québec, to have access to management positions in the Crown corporation and to have a true nation-to-nation relationship, otherwise the Legault government’s energy transition project risks hitting a wall.
“The relationship with the First Nations is essential. Otherwise it will put a lot of stones in your moccasins,” Mashteuiatsh Chief Gilbert Dominique told Energy Minister Christine Fréchette on Thursday.
At a press briefing afterwards, Mr. Dominique stressed that François Legault’s major energy project is located, for the most part, on the ancestral lands of the First Nations.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Energy Minister Christine Fréchette
“We recalled that the success of this energy transition, on which the energy development of nearly 10,000 MW is based, is entirely on our territory. If we do not have this adequate relationship, I would say good luck to the government in initiating this shift,” then explained Chief Dominique at a press briefing.
Energy development will be done on condition that there is social acceptability. And the social acceptability of the First Nations, with their rights, our interests and our titles on the territory inevitably, we are an essential player.
Gilbert Dominique, chief of Mashteuiatsh
It won’t happen
“If we are not in the loop, if there is development that is happening against our rights, if there is development that is happening in areas where it is unacceptable to us, I think that the First Nations will definitely make sure that it does not happen,” continued Mr. Dominique.
The APNQL also wants First Nations to be individual partners in energy projects developed on their territory, with the creation of a fund that would allow them to finance equity investments.
“What we are proposing is to reach out, to get involved, to offer us levers, to offer us the opportunity to be shareholders, these are the bases for developing our relationship,” explained AFNQL Chief Ghislain Picard.
The latter emphasizes that a shift took place at Hydro-Québec with the arrival of CEO Sophie Brochu, and that this open approach continued with CEO Michael Sabia.
Not consulted
“It’s a new way of doing things, a greater openness, a greater sensitivity to the place and role of Hydro-Québec in partnerships with the First Nations. The government has chosen not to follow suit, and that’s what we find sad. It’s a Crown corporation that is taking the lead, that is charting a path forward, but the government seems to be completely elsewhere,” deplored Mr. Picard.
As a symbol of this lack of regard, the two men stated that the First Nations were not consulted by the Quebec government during the preparation of Bill 69 on energy reform.
They deplore having to come and testify in the National Assembly, with pressure groups, to put forward their point of view. “About 11 years ago, we were in the same room today, for the study of a bill on mining reform. We arrived like a hair in a soup. We are leaving the decorum that is familiar to you, with a reality that is still subject to denial. That is what we want to change. The world around us is changing. But we seem to have stagnated, here,” said Mr. Picard.