Quebec natives want $11 billion for hydro dams built 50 years ago

Canadian Press

Published: Wednesday, June 28, 2006

MONTREAL (CP) - Aboriginals in northern Quebec have relaunched a lawsuit that now seeks $11 billion in damages for 13 hydroelectric dams built 50 years ago on territory they claim as their own.

The Pessamit Innu originally filed the lawsuit with Quebec Superior Court in 1998 for $500 million, but agreed to put it aside four years ago to pursue negotiations with the Quebec government.

But Innu chief Raphael Picard says those negotiations are going nowhere.

The lawsuit claims Ottawa, Quebec and Crown corporation Hydro-Quebec failed to respect the band's ancestral rights, or to live up to numerous treaties signed over the years.

According to Picard, 13 Hydro-Quebec power dams are located on Innu territory on the province's north shore.

Picard's lawsuit contends the dams where built without the band's consent, and he calculates the $11 billion figure represents the benefits Quebec society has enjoyed from the development his band's land.