Hydro-Québec settlement with Labrador Innu ‘dead’ after failing to hit 50% voter turnout: negotiator
CBC
After weeks of consultation and a three-day vote, members of the Innu Nation fell short of ratifying what would have been a historic settlement with Hydro-Québec.
The Tsheuatishiun Agreement would have seen Hydro-Québec pay $87 million to Sheshatshiu and Natuashish over 16 years, along with three per cent of the dividends the Quebec Crown corporation receives from Churchill Falls.
But to ratify the deal, at least 50 per cent of eligible residents of both Sheshatshiu and Natuashish had to vote on the settlement, and negotiation committee member Peter Penashue says that count wasn’t met in Sheshatshiu.
Although the numbers have not been published, Penashue said the community was about 10 votes short of the 50 per cent threshold.
“The agreement is … dead as far as I'm concerned,” he said in an interview with CBC Radio's Labrador Morning on Tuesday, the morning after the final vote.
The money from Hydro-Québec would have come in the form of annual payments into a reconciliation fund, which is why the settlement was also referred to as the Reconciliation and Collaboration Agreement.
Hydro-Québec and the Innu Nation reached the proposed out-of-court settlement this summer, a deal that could have been the end of a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit the Innu Nation launched in 2020, seeking compensation for what Innu describe as devastating ecological and cultural damages wrought by the Churchill Falls project.
“This was an agreement that would have seen the future generations receive revenue from Churchill Falls for as long as the river was producing electricity,” said Penashue. “But yesterday we turned it down.”
Penashue said voter turnout may have been low because people wanted more. He said community members were given what they needed to fully understand and make an informed decision.
Penashue is disappointed with the result, and said he's not sure whether the door is open for further negotiations.
Hydro-Québec wouldn't do an interview about the results, instead saying in a statement emailed Tuesday morning that it will discuss next steps with Innu Nation.
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