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So much for the slanderous rumours that you're good for nothing!
Another Facebook group against Plan Nord and in support of the Innu blockade:
Manifestation en solidarité avec le blocus Innu sur le 138
I think this is the first CBC link I've seen on this story:
Police remove blockade at La Romaine hydro complex (includes video link)
ETA: La Romaine is actually an Innu community 60 km to the east of me on the Lower North Shore. The Hydro project is named after the Romaine River, and the project is actually just north of Havre-Saint-Pierre, 100 km to the west of us. I'm almost in the middle of these two.
From: Dam Threatens Heart of Canada's Wilderness
From its watershed on the Québec/Labrador border, the wild and powerful Romaine River sweeps, cascades and surges for 500 spectacular kilometres in a succession of chutes, falls and rapids through primary northern boreal forest and bio-diverse wetlands, then spreads out into the unique Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve before spilling into the Gulf of the St Lawrence on the Lower North Shore east of Havre-Saint-Pierre, a small town of 3,500 people.
ETA: There's also a large Innu community 44 km to the west of us in Natashquan, as well as the Innu community 60+ km to the east of us in La Romaine - I am almost in the middle of these two in Kegaska, on Quebec's Lower North Shore. We get visits here from the French and Innu in these communities selling caribou meat and Innu crafts.
On Rabble.ca: Jean Charest's destructive Plan Nord
excerpt:
So far, much of the rest of the opposition to Plan Nord has been in the form of lobbying and media communications.
Earth Day
That will all change on Earth Day, April 22, 2012. On that day Charest will meet with business leaders interested in cashing in on Plan Nord. Marches will start at 2 pm in cities across Quebec, timed to coincide with the start of Charest's summit in Montreal.
The summit could be the launching pad for the Liberal's election campaign, attempting to win a fourth election in 10 years in spite of dissatisfaction rates having remained at a steady 70 per cent for several months.
On the same weekend, la Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) will hold its founding convention. The environment was absent in the initial policy statements of CAQ and it supports both the exploitation of the North and the tuition fee increase that provoked the ongoing student strike. Charest's strategy seems to be an attempt at uniting the right and repolarizing the political scene between his Liberals and their old adversary, Marois' Parti Québécois.
The organizers of Earth Day in Quebec, which include dozens of environmental groups, church leaders, artists and other social movement leaders, have made the North a key element. The news about Plan Nord is getting out to the mass of ordinary people in Quebec -- in part, because the striking students have also been raising it. As the student strike continues to radicalize thousands, Earth day could be an opportunity for a convergence of forces against the government.
2012 is shaping up to continue to be a Quebec spring.
ETA: This article was first published in Socialist Worker.
If you're in Montreal on Earth Day weekend, you may want to picket the Plan Nord Jobs Fair.
I posted this story earler from another publication, but now the TO Star has it, so I guess it's now bona fide:
Innu women march against Hydro-Quebec project
Council of Canadians had this a week ago:
Innu walk 900-km to protest Plan Nord and La Romaine dams
http://canadians.org/blog/?p=14637
Apparently there's another protest for April 22 (tomorrow).
and: On May 2-3, there will be a forum on Plan Nord in Quebec City.
From that link, this is disturbing:
"So, where's the problem? According to marcher Clemence Simon, marchers feel the project will eventually go through anyway. The band council has already agreed to drop its court action in return for a compensation package. And, Hydro-Quebec is making inroads into the community, signing a contract with local Innu-owned company Nemetau, which is cutting down trees to make way for its transmission lines. ...(And) the band council has already signed agreements with four iron mining companies."
Rally tomorrow - Plan Nord will be protested.
LINK
Tomorrow's protest has the potential to be a monster - uniting students, the environmentalists, and protests against Plan Nord. Wish I could be there.
I don't know how I missed this one: Is Plan Nord really an economic development tool for Québec?
excerpt:Regarding return on investment, the Québec government can derive $14.3G from mining and hydraulic royalties as well as from tax revenues from both businesses and individuals. These royalties are however merely hypothetical since nothing guarantees that they will reach such a level. It should be noted that between 2002 and 2008, 14 mining companies did not pay any royalties to the state of Québec. In fact, over the same period, only 40 per cent of mining companies paid a royalty.
Furthermore, the royalty system based on mining profits does not allow the State to steadily foresee the amount of money which it will take in. The situation might seem advantageous when the price of ores is high (as it is at the moment) and mining companies are reaping profits. However, when the markets drop, royalties will decrease accordingly. The Québec government projects $365M of royalties for 2011-2012. However, this amount seems low in comparison to the annual mineral production which reaches $7.7G. If the Québec government took a fixed royalty rate of 20 per cent of mineral production, instead of establishing its royalty system on profits, it would harvest a relatively stable $770M annually.
Protest begins this morning I think:
Avis de Presse
ALLIANCE ROMAINE SE JOINDRA À LA CHAINE HUMAINE DES INNUS DEVANT LE
CHANTIER D'HYDRO-QUÉBEC À LA RIVIERE ROMAINE
Sept-Îles, 15 juin, 2012: Des membres d'Alliance Romaine se joindront
dès 10h00 demain matin à la chaine humaine des Innus qui bloqueront
symboliquement l'accès au chantier d'Hydro-Québec de la rivière
Romaine à partir de la route 138.
Cette action est l'initiative d'un groupe de militants innus qui
achèvent aujourd'hui une marche de six jours les ayant amenés de
Maliotenam, près de Sept-Îles, jusqu'à Natashquan dans un but de
rallier l'opposition autochtone au Plan Nord.
Le groupe écologiste partage l'analyse des militants innus comme quoi que
la construction de barrages sur la rivière Romaine se fait dans un but
de fournir l'électricité bon marché à des compagnies minières et de
faciliter de nouveaux projets nuisibles sur le Nitassinan.
Alliance Romaine s'oppose au projet hydroélectrique depuis son
commencement en 2009, et se solidarise fièrement à cette manifestation
innue par des motifs autant écologiques que de droits humains.
L'entrée du chantier d'Hydro-Québec se trouve près de la borne 1252,
sur la route 138, à l'est de Havre-Saint-Pierre. Un porte-parole
d'Alliance Romaine sera disponible sur place pour accorder des entevues.
Alliance Quebec portage to protest the Hydro project (I was the Administrator of this Facebook group for two years)
Alliance Romaine Sept-Iles, vendredi 3 août 2012
Un appel à l'arrêt des travaux prévus aux Grandes-Chutes de la rivière Romaine est lancé aujourd'hui par un ensemble de groupes, notamment Alliance Romaine, la Fondation Rivières et le Réseau québécois des groupes écologistes.
En conférence de presse à 13h aujourd'hui à Sept-Iles, Élise Vollant, du groupe des marcheuses de Maliotenam, Christopher Scott d'Alliance Romaine et Jacques Gélineau, de la Fondation Rivières, lanceront l'appel suivant :
...
www.romaine-appel.org
On vous invite à l'appuyer également, en indiquant vos noms et/ou organismes sur le site web à l'adresse ci-dessus.
Pour être tenu informé de la suite de la campagne et participer, écrivez également votre adresse courriel sur la page d'appui à l'appel.
Cet appel fait suite à plusieurs années de campagnes pour la protection de la rivière Romaine. Il sera suivi au cours des prochaines semaines d'actions de visibilité et éventuellement d'autres interventions visant à ce que l'appel soit appliqué.
Alors que le contrat pour détruire les Grandes-Chutes vient d'être accordé à une compagnie associée à la fraude et la corruption, plusieurs voix s'élèvent pour questionner la façon dont les barrages sont construits, entre autres au détriment des populations locales. Des barrages pour alimenter en énergie le Plan Nord, pour soutenir l'expansion des industries minières et autres...
Nous vous invitons à appuyer la campagne, à y participer, à diffuser ce message, enfin à nous écrire si vous souhaitez travailler plus directement avec nous sur ces enjeux.
En solidarité,
l'équipe d'Alliance Romaine
Sept-îles, Friday, August 3, 2012
A call to stop work provided at the great falls of the Romaine River is today launched a set of groups, including Alliance Romaine, the rivers Foundation and the Quebec network environmental groups.
In press conference at 13 p.m. today at Sept-îles, Elise Vollant, Maliotenam walkers group, Christopher Scott of Romaine and Jacques Gélineau, of the rivers Foundation, Alliance will launch the following call: www.romaine-appel.org we invite you to also support indicating your names or organizations on the website at the above address.
To be kept informed of the remainder of the campaign and participate, write also your email on the page of support to the appeal.
This call follows several years of campaigns for the protection of the Romaine River. It will be followed in the coming weeks of visibility actions and possibly other interventions to ensure that the appeal is applied.
While the contract to destroy large-falls to be granted to a company associated with fraud and corruption, many voices are to question how dams are built, among others at the expense of the local population. Dams to power the Northern Plan to support the expansion of mining and other industries...
We invite you to support the campaign, to participate, to broadcast this message, finally write us if you want to work more directly with us on these issues.
In solidarity, the Alliance Romaine team
PQ election win would 'redo' Plan Nord The three main parties all support Plan Nord, the PQ and CAQ with a bit of alteration.
Aboriginal group protests Plan Nord, Romaine River
I get tons of email about the Romaine Hydro Project as I'm a member of the group against the project, and I was the administrator of their Facebook group for three years. Want me to share all this stuff?