Eastmain hydroelectric plant a go

Construction has begun on a controversial $5-billion hydroelectric project, the Quebec government announced Thursday, calling itthe biggest and most important of its kind in a decade.

The Hydro Quebec project will divert the Rupert River and build two hydroelectric plants, the Eastmain A-1 and La Sarcelle, which should begin operating by 2010 and are expected eventually to generate as much as 900 megawatts of power.

'I know that a lot of Cree people are concerned today, and it's probably a very sad day for a lot of people. It's a sad day for me.' -Matthew Mukash, Grand Cree Chief

To construct the two power stations, Hydro Quebec will build four dams and 72 dikes, and will flood 188 square kilometres of forest land along the river.

Quebec Premier Jean Charest announced the start of the project ata press conference at Hydro Quebec's headquarters on Thursday, a last-minute venue chosen after the government cancelled a northern ceremony in Waskaganish, where it was rumoured that Cree opponents to the project were going to protest.

In Montreal, Charest was flanked by political figures and businessmen, including Cree leaders, and mayors of Quebec cities poised to benefit from the project. Hydro Quebec president Thierry Vandal called the diversion the most important development in a decade, a "very lucrative" project that will eventually supply the province with cheap electricity.

Charest lauded hydroelectricity as a cornerstone of Quebec's heritage that has "become a tool of economic development for Quebecers," including the Cree.

"There is no perfect [energy source] but we must, when we can, make the best choices for our children and grandchildren, and hydroelectricity allows us to produce clean and renewable energy," he said in French.

Quebec Environment Minister Claude Béchard said the project will create cleaner, more environmentally friendly energy than other power sources.

The power stations are "long-term solutions to fight greenhouse gas emissions" that will put Quebec at the forefront of the fight against climate change, he said.

The project is expected to generate 27,000 jobs over the next decade, and signals a dramatic reversal of fortune for the Cree nation, which stands to gain up to $70 million in annual profits from the project, which was brokered in 2002 through the Paix des Braves agreement with the federal and provincial governments.

Critics have blasted the project because of its future impact on the river's ecosystem, and the traditional Cree pursuits of hunting and fishing. The project divided the Cree, who endorsed the project in a referendum in 2002 in which a little more than half the population voted.

There are mixed feelings that linger across the Cree territory, said Chisasibi Chief Abraham Rupert, whose community opposed the project.

"It's very disappointing. We're feeling we haven't been listened to. We haven't been given a chance to speak."

Rupert is one of several Cree leaders who pitched an alternative wind energy project that they say would have less dramatic impact on the land. That sentiment is shared by others in the territory.

"Why isn't it possible to study other sources of energy, instead of killing off another virgin river?" asked Bertie Wapachee, a Cree trapper who lives by the Rupert river.

"It's not just [used by the] Cree anymore. People come from around the world to see that river. It's one of the last fresh-water rivers you can still drink out of."

The Grand Chief of the Grand Council of Crees, Matthew Mukash, supports the project but said Thursday's announcement pained him.

"I know that a lot of Cree people are concerned today, and it's probably a very sad day for a lot of people. It's a sad day for me," he told Canadian Press.

"When you lose something, when you lose a loved one, you go through a phase of grief. But in the end, there's always light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

Environmentalists in the southern regions of Quebec are also concerned about the long-term effect of damming such a huge river, which could include mercury poisoning and the destruction of wildlife. The government has handed Hydro Quebec a list of 97 guidelines to minimize any environmental impact, a safeguard Sierra Club says has no real binding force.

"The two governments have said, well, we don't really know the impacts, and we're asking Hydro Quebec to monitor them, and to adapt the project if these impacts become horrendous. It's asking the promoter of this project to admit they've done wrong. It's ridiculous," said Daniel Green, a campaigner for the environment group.

The project was subjected to several environmental assessments and three series of public consultations, which ended in late 2006.