James Bay Project Background

Background James Bay Project

Photo: Hydro Quebec Overview The province of Quebec is Canada’s leading producer of hydroelectricity and owns one of the world’s largest hydroelectric facilities, La Grande complex in the James Bay area of the Northern Quebec region. Hydroelectricity accounts for approximately 97% of all the electricity consumed in Quebec. The James Bay area lies within the Canadian Shield and stretches across 297, 330 km2. This area accounts for 20% of the province of Quebec and is home to various vegetation, animals and First Nation communities. In 1971, Premier Robert Bourassa introduced his plan for creating numerous large hydroelectric power stations on the rivers that feed into James Bay. This project, popularly known as the James Bay Project, would be owned by Hydro Quebec and would be recognized as one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world. The project was divided into two phases. A total of 8 generating stations were constructed which produce more than half of Quebec’s hydroelectric power.

Currently, in Canada, there are 271 large hydropower facilities and 581 large hydropower dams. Quebec holds the largest number of large hydropower facilities (32% of Canada’s total) with Northern Quebec containing13,900 km2 of hydropower reservoirs. Canada’s Taiga Shield and Boreal Shield ecozones contain 35% and 48% of the nation’s large hydropower reservoir area.

The proposed benefit of the James Bay project was that it would provide a renewable and pollution-free source of energy that would fill a significant portion of Quebec’s electricity demands. Overall, hydroelectric power provides renewable and sustainable energy generation and helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, there remains debate that other alternatives such as wind power and solar power are more viable than hydroelectricity.

The Project

In order to create the hydroelectric power stations within the James Bay area, four major rivers, including the Grande Rivière, were diverted resulting in a dramatic change to the landscape. The Eastmain, Opinaca and Caniapiscau rivers were diverted to flow into the dammed reservoirs on the Grande Rivière, changing the river’s water flow drastically and inundating 11,000 km2 of boreal forest. The diversion of the rivers ultimately created a chain of reservoirs. The inundated land had previously been home to many [email protected] edu.esri.ca Page 1 of 2 Background James Bay Project

First Nation Cree communities. The average flow of the Grande Rivière nearly doubled from 1,700 to 3,300 cubic metres per second (m3/s). Upon completion of the project, nine rivers had been dammed. Surrounding Cree Nation communities, including the village of Eastmain and Chisasibi, either experienced a dramatic decrease or increase in water flow along these rivers.

Due to the changing water levels, dead trees filled shorelines and vegetation growth in these areas ceased. Areas surrounding the project were also subject to geological earth tremors. High levels of mercury, due to decomposing organic material in reservoirs, were also found in surrounding rivers and lakes. The project affected animal migration patterns, salmon spawning routes and destroyed a number of wildlife habitats. In addition, an estimated 10,000 caribou with migration routes through the flooded areas died as a result. This caused further negative effects on the local First Nation communities with regards to hunting and trading. Additionally, millions of migratory birds were affected including waterfowls, Canadian geese and inland birds that normally fed off the coastlines of the region during their fall and spring migrations.

The village of Fort George, now known as Chisasibi, at the mouth of the Grande Rivière was displaced and relocated upstream. The town of Radisson was built to help support the project and it now has a much larger population than the nearby First Nation Cree village of Chisasibi. The project also entailed the creation of the James Bay road that opened the region to mineral exploration and cheaper costs of transport. This negatively affected First Nation Cree hunting and trapping activities, specifically in Nemaska and Waskaganish. These losses were reimbursed through an income replacement program financed by the government of Quebec, providing fair salaries to hunters and their families.

Opposition to the Project

Initially, the James Bay Project was introduced without consultation of the First Nations communities within the area. With the James Bay and Northern Quebec region being home to the First Nation Cree and scattered Inuit communities, hunting and trapping areas were compromised and destroyed with the implementation of the project. A strong belief was held among these communities as well as several environmental groups that the government of Quebec was acting in violation of pre-existing treaties. As a result, there was strong opposition from the surrounding First Nation and Inuit communities which later led to the creation of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.

This agreement granted the First Nation Cree and Inuit exclusive hunting and fishing rights, financial compensation and environmental follow-up and assessment of hydroelectric developments involving the rivers of Northern Quebec. In return, the Quebec government would receive the rights to continue implementing hydroelectric resources in those regions.

For more information on the James Bay Project please visit:  Municipality of James Bay- Territory of James Bay: http://municipalite.baie-james.qc.ca/html/territoire_bj_en.php  Canadian Encyclopedia- James Bay Project: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/james-bay-project  Wikipedia- James Bay Project: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bay_Project#cite_note-37 Source: Susan Wilson, Hydro-Quebec and the Great Whale Project hydroelectric development in northern Quebec (1993), 69. ii. James Bay Project http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bay_Project#cite_note-37  Global Forest Watch Canada- Hydropower Developments in Canada: Number, Size, and Jurisdiction and Ecological Distribution by Peter G. Lee, Matt Hanneman and Ryan Cheng: http://www.globalforestwatch.ca/  Canadian Geographic- A conversation with Matthew Coon Come: http://canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/nd05/indepth/peopleportrait.asp  Canadian Geographic- A brief history of the Cree: http://canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/nd05/indepth/history.asp

© 2013 Esri Canada. All rights reserved. Trademarks provided under license from Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Errors and omissions excepted. [email protected] edu.esri.ca Page 2 of 2