STOPPING SM III
While the Innu of Sheshatshit continue their resistance against
low-level flight training, the Innu of Maliotenam, a community on
the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, are facing the threat of a
multi-million dollar hydroelectric dam being built on their territory.
The Sainte-Marguerite III megaproject is expected to be approved
by the provincial government of Quebec on or before October 6,
though the province's own environmental review board recommended
against it.
SM III would be the third hydro dam on the Sainte-Marguerite River.
It will divert two tributaries of the Moisie River, the last important
river in North America that has not been altered or dammed, and one
of Quebec's most important salmon rivers. The project will also create
methylmercury poisoning in the Carheil reservoir, poisoning which
Hydro-Quebec assures us will diminish over time.
"For food, the Innu must choose between mercury-poisoned fish and
junk food supplied by the welfare society," said Gilbert Pilot, a
spokesperson for the Innu group Coalition Pour Nitassinan, which is
organizing resistance to the dam.
The project will also involved the construction of a 50 km access road,
which will also open up the way for increased logging activity in the
area. And, just to begin with, 1 million square metres of forest will be
cut down to allow for the construction of thr reservoirs.
The Innu communities of Maliotenam and Uashat are divided, with
some backing elected band council chief Elie-Jacques Jourdain, who
is willing to accept the SM III project in exchange for compensation
and a role on a salmon supervision committee, and others joining the
Coalition Pour Nitassinan, which has already begun to stage
nonviolent actions in opposition to the dam. Peace Brigades International
has sent a team to Maliotenam, at the request of the Coalition, to help
prevent violence from breaking out (see The ACTivist, July/August 93).
Other activities in support of the Coalition are planned for October.
On October 12, the Regroupement de solidarite avec les Autochtones
and the Alliance for Non-Violent Action (Montreal) are planning a
blockade of the Hydro-Quebec head office in Montreal. For more
information, contact the Regroupement at 3680 Jeanne Mance #440,
Montreal, PQ, H2X 2K5, 514-982-6606, or, in Toronto, call the Alliance
for Non-Violent Action at 416-651-5930.
On October 16, the Innu band Uashau Stone will be performing in
Toronto, as a fundraiser for the Coalition. Uashau Stone, who are
from Maliotenam, will play at the Bickford Centre, 777 Bloor St. W.,
at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Charlie Huisken, Turtle Island
Support Group, at 416-966-8546/537-3520, or Lorraine Land,
Aboriginal Rights Coalition, 416-979-2443/461-5642