First Nations should be shareholders of Hydro-Québec, according to the AFNQL

Photo: Jacques Boissinot archives La Presse canadienne Le chef de l’Assemblée des Premières nations du Québec et du Labrador (APNQL), Ghislain Picard

First Nations should have the opportunity to be shareholders in Hydro-Québec and to enter into agreements with the Crown corporation without Quebec’s agreement, the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL) argued Thursday.

“There are other provinces that do it [have Indigenous shareholders]. I think that in 2024, it would only be normal for us to be given a place in this large corporation,” said Gilbert Dominique, chief of the Mashteuiatsh community, on the sidelines of consultations on Bill 69 on energy.

Hydro-Québec has only one shareholder: the Quebec government. However, the APQNL considers that the First Nations “must have the possibility of being shareholders of Hydro-Québec in order to obtain a fair and equitable share of the dividends and benefits from the exploitation of their territories.”

In parliamentary committee, the APNQL criticized the government for not having involved the First Nations in the preparation of its energy reform.

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“The world around us is changing. But we seem to have stagnated here,” said AFNQL Chief Ghislain Picard. He said he had noticed a change in approach at Hydro-Québec, but not in the government.

However, “the success of [the] energy transition” in Quebec depends on access to the territory, recalled Chief Dominique. Without the establishment of an “adequate relationship” with the First Nations, he has two words for the government: “Good luck.”

“If there is development that goes against our rights, if there is development that goes in areas where, for us, it is unacceptable, I think that the First Nations will definitely make sure that it does not happen,” he added.

The AFNQL also asked Hydro-Québec to set minimum procurement targets for its projects from First Nations businesses. These contracts could serve as “levers” for businesses, which could then “make their niche in the regular market,” summarized Chief Dominique.

The association was also concerned about a provision in Bill 69 that aims to allow private distribution of electricity to a customer located on “adjacent land” to a production site, under certain conditions. This proposal “opens the door to direct supply of industrialists from private producers,” the organization argued.

Exploitation, compensation

The AFNQL also argued that the First Nations should be compensated “for past and current losses and damages related to the exploitation of the territory and energy development.” The Crown corporation “derives its success from the exploitation of resources found on territories over which the First Nations hold rights,” the organization recalled.

Hydro-Québec recently signed a 23-year, $32 million agreement in Unamen Shipu (La Romaine) to “settle” the delicate issue of the Lac-Robertson hydroelectric plant, built in 1995 on Innu territory without their consent. The Crown corporation and the government have also extended $45 million over six years to open negotiations with the community of Pessamit, where Hydro-Québec has ambitions in wind power.

The AFNQL also believes that First Nations “must be significantly represented on the board of directors and in management positions at Hydro-Québec.” In a response sent to DevoirOn Thursday, Hydro-Québec wrote that there are no First Nations members among the fourteen people sitting on its board of directors. The former head of Hydro-Québec, Sophie Brochu, had expressed the wish as early as 2021 to see Indigenous people on the board of directors of the Crown corporation.

In February, Hydro-Québec had 368 Indigenous employees, and the vast majority of these people held jobs identified by the Crown corporation as “trades.”