Unamen Shipu, May 6, 2024

Agreement between the Conseil des Innus d’Unamen Shipu and Hydro-Québec approved by the Government of QuébecAn agreement based on reconciliation

The Conseil des Innus d’Unamen Shipu and Hydro-Québec today signed the Mishta Uashat Lac-Robertson Agreement following its approval by the Government of Québec. This agreement aims to resolve, in a spirit of mutual respect and trust, all outstanding disputes related to the construction, operation and maintenance of Lac-Robertson generating station in the Côte-Nord region.

Ian Lafrenière, Minister Responsible for Relations with the First Nations and the Inuit, took part in the announcement today along with Raymond Bellefleur, Chief of Unamen Shipu, and Michael Sabia, President and CEO of Hydro-Québec. Kateri Champagne Jourdain, Minister of Employment, Minister Responsible for the Côte-Nord Region and Member for Duplessis, was also on hand for the occasion.

Lac-Robertson generating station has been the subject of various legal challenges and claims from the community of Unamen Shipu. The new agreement formalizes the intention of both the community and Hydro-Québec to forge a mutually beneficial, long-term relationship based on respect, cooperation and trust.

Under this agreement, Hydro-Québec will pay a total of $32 million to the Conseil des Innus d’Unamen Shipu in the form of annual payments over a 23-year period. These funds will provide the community with revenues that it will allocate to priorities of its own choosing.

Quotes:

“Building trust to foster partnerships between Hydro-Québec and Indigenous communities is important. This agreement helps create the conditions that will allow us to meet the challenges of the energy transition together.”

Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Minister Responsible for Regional Economic Development and Minister Responsible for the Metropolis and the Montréal Region

 
“In signing this historic agreement with the community of Unamen Shipu, we are taking a major step towards reconciliation and working together to build a better future and better relations, as we have also recently done with the community of Pessamit. Today, we are joining forces with the community of Unamen Shipu to help improve the quality of life of its members.”

Ian Lafrenière, Minister Responsible for Relations with the First Nations and the Inuit

“This agreement was reached in a spirit of mutual trust and respect. I’m delighted that the funds paid to the Conseil des Innus d’Unamen Shipu will help finance promising projects that will benefit the entire community.”

Kateri Champagne Jourdain, Minister of Employment and Minister Responsible for the Côte-Nord Region

 
“The Mishta Uashat Lac-Robertson Agreement settles the Unamen Shipu community’s past grievances. The Council will invest most of the funds in solutions to meet the needs of the community.”

Raymond Bellefleur, Chief of Unamen Shipu

 
“This agreement with Unamen Shipu is based on two fundamental principles of economic reconciliation. First, it’s a step towards acknowledging and settling past grievances. And second, it creates a source of revenues that the community can invest in its own priorities in the years to come.”

Michael Sabia, President and CEO of Hydro-Québec

Highlights:

• The Lac-Robertson development includes a 21-MW hydropower generating station on the Rivière Ha! Ha! in the Côte-Nord region, a 4.8-MW diesel power plant, an access road, as well as a transmission system and distribution substations that supply the villages of La Tabatière, Blanc-Sablon, Saint-Augustin and Vieux-Fort.
• Lac-Robertson generating station is not connected to Hydro-Québec’s main transmission grid. It supplies nearby communities, as well as others along the Labrador coast of the Strait of Belle Isle.