Peace and Environment News* July-August 1991
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Peace and Environment News * July-August 1991 |
by Fiona York
Participants at an information session in Montreal on June 11, 1991 agreed that information sharing and public participation are essential to proposed developments at James Bay. Forum Grande-Baleine, named for one of the sites of the planned second half of the James Bay mega-project, was organized by interested parties in Quebec. Speakers at the forum included a representative of the Cree of Quebec and representatives of Commission Kativik and the Comité d'Examen de la Baie James, two groups involved in assessing development projects in Northern Quebec. The topic of discussion was the grudgingly-begun provincial Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and in particular the public hearings that are a part of all EIAs, whether federal or provincial.
The public consultation portion of the provincial Environmental Impact Assessment process was authorized by the Quebec Ministry of the Environment on May 10, 1991. It is slated to begin this summer. The announcement of public consultations has not been sufficient to placate disgruntled Cree in Northern Quebec, who have withdrawn their support for the process. They feel that the division of the Environmental Impact Assessment into "access" (construction of roads and airports) and "construction" (construction of dams, dikes, and power stations) dilutes the intent of the process and contravenes the James Bay-Northern Quebec Agreement. They also believe that the EIA should be a federal initiative, and they are angered by the refusal of the federal government to take responsibility.
The Cree feel they have reason to criticize attempts by the Quebec government to legitimize the Environmental Impact Assessment process. Since the inception of the James Bay project in 1971, the Quebec government has been notorious for deliberately limiting access to information. The Cree who reside in the James Bay area found out about the proposed James Bay I development from the newspapers. There were neither public hearings nor an Environmental Impact Assessment before the project began. Cree concerns were not addressed until the James Bay-Northern Quebec Agreement was signed in 1975. Even this agreement has not guaranteed the Cree a voice in either James Bay I —the Grand River project —or James Bay II. Cree calls for a comprehensive and independent Environmental Impact Assessment were ignored until earlier this year.
The fact that the Cree are currently involved with six court cases in Quebec indicates what little faith they have in the intentions of the province. In June, they participated in a demonstration in Grand Baleine. There was a simultaneous support demonstration in Montreal organized with the support of more than 50 environmental groups in Quebec, Ontario and the United States.
The Cree are being encouraged by the Comité d'Examen de la Baie James to attend the Commission Kativik's information sessions in Montreal on July 2 and 3, 1991, and in Kuujuarapik, an Inuit and Cree community in Northern Quebec, on June 25, 26, and 27, 1991. Spokespersons for Hydro Quebec are expected to attend these sessions.
Concerned members of the public can look forward to public hearings beginning as early as the end of August. For more information on dates and times, call Cultural Survival (Canada) at (613) 233-4653.
Converted October 3, 2001 - Lg
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