Hydro-Québec appoints retired judge to address unpaid bills in Indigenous communities

Hydro-Québec has appointed a former chief justice from the Quebec Superior Court to figure out how to deal with unpaid electricity bills that have accumulated in certain Indigenous communities.

In September, Radio-Canada reported that people living in 15 communities owe the utility roughly $250 million for unpaid bills that have accumulated for several years. In some cases, the bills have piled up for decades.

Some people interviewed by Radio-Canada openly admitted to defaulting on their bills, saying Hydro-Québec should be paying them for the use and destruction of their ancestral land.

One member of the Nutashkuan Innu First Nation, which is located about 370 kilometres east of Sept-Îles in the Côte-Nord region, told Radio-Canada that paying a Hydro-Québec bill would be like lending toys to someone only to have that person turn around and charge you. 

In a statement issued on Monday, the utility said former chief justice François Rolland will act as an "impartial and independent facilitator," review the company's collection practices in certain First Nation and Inuit communities and issue recommendations on how to move forward.

His tasks, according to Hydro-Québec, will also include "situating the issue of outstanding bills within the broader context of economic reconciliation and the energy transition and making sure all customers are treated fairly."

Rolland won't be working alone.

He'll be supported by Geneviève Motard, a professor of constitutional law and Indigenous rights at the Faculty of Law at Université Laval, and Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations Québec-Labrador.

In September, Radio-Canada also reported that the issue has caused tensions internally at Hydro-Québec, with some staff members believing the unpaid sums should be collected.

A process of "economic reconciliation" with First Nation and Inuit communities is part of Hydro-Québec 2035 action plan, which was unveiled last year.