SOMETHING FISHY: JAMES BAY'S BACK AND WORSE
copyright Carol Dianne Murray, 1997.

Two years ago, when the James Bay project was put "on ice",
Matthew Coon-Come, Grand Chief of the Quebec Crees quipped "Ice
can melt..."  His words have proved prophetic.  James Bay is back
and it's just the tip of the iceberg.

Hydro-Quebec plans to divert the Rupert and La Grande rivers
towards the south. But Southern Quebec and Newfoundland won't be
spared.  The previously-protected rivers that feed the Moisie
River's Atlantic salmon fishery are now slated for diversion. 
And more diversions on North Shore rivers are planned.  The new
projects threaten terrestrial and aquatic wildlife, especially
fish.  And they will disrupt the native economies of Ntassinan
and Iiyuuschii - the Cree's name for their nation.

Dr. Michael Rozengurt and Hans Neu, estuary experts affiliated
with OPIRG-Carleton's Dam-Reservoir Working Group [DRWG], fear
the new projects will further starve Maritime fisheries of
critical freshwater runoff during the spring and summer.  More
than the salmon are at stake; science shows Atlantic and St.
Lawrence fisheries and phytoplankton are under the hydro gun.

Activists were disgusted to learn of the new plans from press
reports.  The Montreal Gazette erroneously said the Crees were
"hailing Bouchard"; the Globe and Mail claimed the Crees had no
problem with new projects.  But reports from Cree sources tell a
different story!  Cree Grand Chief Coon-Come says reporters were
absent from the meeting they reported on.

Boston-based energy analyst Ian Goodman says Quebec sold power to
the USA below cost, too quickly for too many years running.  Now
the southern reservoirs are at 21% of capacity - dangerously low.
HQ plans to divert the Rupert, Great Whale, Aux Pekans, Carheil
and other Quebec rivers to make up the shortfall.  They claim
they'll lose more money if they can't build the diversions.

But why would a utility with a world-wide reputation for
engineering excellence sell power below cost?  Did they merely
miscalculated how much water they could safely use to genetate
power?  Or something more sinister going on?  Activists have long
suspected it's not economics but political imperialism that
drives the Quebec government's urge to build dams all over
Iiyuutchii and Ntassinan.  To find the missing puzzle piece,
consider Bouchard's words at a press conference in Chibougamou,
during his recent visit to Iiyuustchii:

"More and more, the Quebec government has the obligation to have
its flag planted in this land of destiny.  To do this we will
inevitably have to populate this territory and give its
inhabitants the means of developing its riches in harmony with
the Natives who also live there.",  said Bouchard to Quebecois
journalists in Chibougamou, according to the James Bay Cree
magazine, The Nation.

The statement came on the heels of Bouchard's polite but frank
meeting with Cree chiefs in Waswanipi where he and Grand Chief
Coon-Come agreed to disagree.  Crees protested new hydro projects
at one of Bouchard's northern appearances.

Becasue of the timeline, protecting the Moisie tributaries and
their flow is now the most pressing issue, followed by protecting
the Bersimies and other North Shore rivers and the Rupert and La
Grande Rivers, in Iiyuuschii.

Quebec's 1995 Bureau d'Audience Publique de l'Environnement
concluded the Sainte-Marguerite 3 project shouldn't be built at
all.  Ignoring their advice, Quebec went ahead, but forbade the
diversion of the Carheil and Aux Pekans rivers; expert advice had
shown them crucial and irreplacable to the salmon's spawning
grounds.  

In April 1996, Atlantic Salmon Federation experts testified that
the Aux Pekans and Carheil Rivers are critical for the salmon's
survival; they recommended against the diversions in their report
to the federal-provincial team studying the Moisie's River's
salmon run.  This July, David Cliche, Quebec's Minister of
Environment and Wildlife and Guy Chevrette, Minister of Natural
resources reneaged on the decision to protect the tributaries,
sealing the salmon's fate.

Quebec activists and Canadian wildife need our help. Tom
Holzinger with the newly-formed Coalition Contre le
Denationalisation d'Electricite [CCDE] has been sending out
updates and bulletins on the Internet. I've posted these to 
DRWG's 3-year old Dam-Reservoir Impact & Information Archive, 
now 3 years old [http://www.sandelman.ottawa.on.ca/dams].  

The CCDE is composed of environmental and consumers groups and
trade unions.  At CCDE and Friends of Ntassinan's well-attended
July meeting, in Burlington, VT, activists renewed ties, shared
resources, and planned strategy.  The fight is on!  

To get involved, contact the DRWG and Dianne Murray at
dianne@sandelman.ottawa.on.ca or call 520-2757.  CCDE wants to
network with dam activists in other cities, too: email Tom
Holzinger at t.holzinger@netaxis.qc.ca.

[Dianne Murray is the Dam-Reservoir Working Group 
at OPIRG-Carleton's Coordinator and Webslinger.]