Agreements
Background
Many of Hydro-Québec’s facilities are built on land frequently used by members of Indigenous communities. Hydro-Québec has negotiated agreements with these communities to obtain their participation in certain projects or to develop and maintain good relations with them.
Three Indigenous nations in Québec—the Crees, the Inuit and the Naskapi—have signed comprehensive land claim agreements, or “modern treaties,” namely the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement (JBNQA, 1975) and the Northeastern Québec Agreement (1978).
Subsequent to the JBNQA, we concluded some 20 different agreements with the Crees about particular projects. These include the Boumhounan Agreement, which provided for direct Cree participation in studies and work on the Eastmain-1-A powerhouse (renamed the Bernard-Landry generating station in 2016) and Rupert diversion, from the preliminary project stages to commissioning. Members of six Cree communities continue to take part in the environmental studies related to our facilities.
The agreements between Hydro-Quebec and the Indigenous communities are not land claim agreements, i.e., agreements on land rights or rights to natural resources, since these issues are under the purview of the federal and provincial governments.
Our approach
We seek to obtain a favorable reception for our development projects from the Indigenous communities concerned. That is why we have signed impact and benefit agreements with several of them.
We have, in fact, signed dozens of agreements of this type since 1975. These differ depending on the project and the circumstances of the communities concerned and contain different provisions. The agreements may call for Hydro-Québec to pay financial compensation to the communities affected, provide for the awarding of contracts to Indigenous companies or specify the environmental measures to be implemented. Different funds established under these agreements are used to promote Indigenous cultures and traditional lifestyles, cover costs of training, mitigate project impacts and support community and economic development. In this way, Indigenous communities become stakeholders in the projects.
Our goal is always the same: to forge lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships that respect the culture and values of all parties. Here are two examples of such partnerships:
A transmission facilities agreement
The Hydro-Québec–Atikamekw Nehirowisiw Agreement, signed in 2015 in connection with construction of transmission lines running 400 km from Chamouchouane substation in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region to the greater Montréal area, calls for payment of amounts to be used for economic and community development and to fund traditional activities. The Atikamekw also obtained land clearing contracts, and a joint follow-up committee was set up.
A supplementary agreement for the Romaine complex
In June 2021, Hydro-Québec and the Innu of Ekuanitshit signed the Nashkuaikan Agreement. This agreement addresses the community’s concerns about changes to the Romaine complex project and enhances certain provisions of the Nishipiminan Agreement, signed in 2009 in connection with the project.
Among other things, the new agreement provides for the following:
- A $57.6-million fund to finance community initiatives over a 50-year period
- Activities to help Hydro-Québec workers in Minganie learn about Innu culture
- Measures to promote the awarding of contracts for construction and operation of the Romaine complex to Innu companies from the community
- Start of discussions on a pilot project for energy-efficient buildings in Ekuanitshit
