Are Crees discussing new hydro projects with Hydro-Quebec or not?
That is the question.
In our last issue, we reported that Crees and HQ have held two meetings at which they discussed”conditions under which development could occur.” The information came from Ghislain Ouellet,a top Hydro executive.
After The Nation came out, Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come informed us there have been no “official”meetings yet. “There is no official meeting that has taken place yet of the Cree-Quebec task force.”
And new projects are not on the table, he said. Instead, Hydro will be “taken to task” for the hundredsof unfulfilled obligations under the JBNQA.
Under Grand Council calculations, the Crees are out $5 billion in unfulfilled commitments, the Grand Chief said.
That is the amount Crees are suing for in the so-called Coon Come II legal case that is slowly winding its way through the court system.
“This committee has no mandate to discuss new projects. That to me is clear,” said Coon Come. “I don’t want to waste my time talking about Great Whale when it’s on the shelf.”
Asked why HQ would say new projects are being discussed, he replied, “They’re trying to send feelers out.”
Some chiefs are confused about what’s going on. Romeo Saganash, the Grand Council’s newly appointed director of Quebec relations, spoke of “two meetings” when he appeared before the provincial National Assembly on Feb. I I.
“There is a Hydro-Cree working group which has had two meetings so far,” he told MNAs. “This working group isn’t necessarily discussing development projects. It is discussing partnership.”
Saganash didn’t return several calls.
Chiefs apparently raised concerns about the task force at their last meeting. “Someone was saying Romeo was meeting with Hydro-Quebec and excluding the other members (of the task force),” said one chief.
Chiefs were even confused about who is on the task force and still haven’t given it a formalmandate, even though meetings may or may not have already started.
