Brief History of Events Pertaining to Cumulative Impacts of Hydroelectric Developments on the Marine Ecosystem of James and Hudson Bay

Compiled by THE ARCTIC EIDER SOCIETY *

1971 Hydroelectric projects in announced by the government. Due to a lack of consultation and environmental assessment, launch a lawsuit against Hydro Quebec (HQ) 1973 Government ruling halts construction until an agreement can be reached with Cree and 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement was signed (and in 1978 NE Quebec Agreement) Canada’s fi rst modern land claim settlements. Pave way for completion of Phase I. No such Agreement was signed with the Belcher Islands Inuit. 1986-2005 Community based eider down industry developed in Sanikiluaq 1989 Federal Government meets with Sanikiluaq Hamlet Council who raise concerns about La Grande Complex impacts on sea ice habitats and the marne ecosystem. 1990 Cree and Inuit travel down Hudson River to New York City to raise publicity about impacts of proposed Great Whale project 1990-1995 Sanikiluaq raises concerns with Great Whale Hydroelectricity Project Details: With the proposed Great Whale hydroelectric project, the Environment Committee of the Municipality of Sanikiluaq received intervener status in the federal environmental review assessment, and funds to participate in the review. At the time, the Environment Committee also started a large project with the Rawson Academy of Aquatic Science and the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee (CARC) in which money from both the federal government and private foundations was spent on generating more information and knowledge on Hudson Bay by looking at physical and biological sciences and traditional ecological knowledge and management systems. Information was collected and assessed, and gaps in scientifi c understanding were identifi ed. Winter 1991/92 Community of Sanikiluaq documents a massive mortality event of Common Eiders During rapid and extensive winter freeze-ups that closed fl oe edges and open water habitats, numerous eiders were trapped individuals in small polynyas. One elder/hunter describes that “as many eiders were dead on the ice as there is gravel on the beach” Contact with Environment Canada (Grant Gilchrist, Greg Robertson) is established and surveys conducted in follow-up and comparison to those conducted by Makivik Corporation and Municipality of Sanikiluaq between 1985-1990, in order to investigate the decline Aug 1991-93 Earth River Expeditions: Sponsored and ran 8 conservation awareness trips on Great Whale River in Quebec to expose policy makers and media to the threats from the James Bay Hydro project. Participants included Robert Kennedy, The Natural resources Defense Council, The National Audubon Society, Members of the Cree First nation and Grand Chief, National Geographic Magazine, Conde Naste Traveler, Turner Broadcasting, Nicolodian and politicians from New York and New England who were negotiating to purchase power from the . Reference: Jan 12 1992, New York Times: Power Struggle http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/12/magazine/ power-struggle.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm 1991-1995 Environmental Committee of Municipality of Sanikiluaq conducts a seminal Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Management Systems survey of the Hudson Bay Inland Sea as part of the Hudson Bay Programme. It involves 23 coastal communities and includes documenting the importance of and changes in marine currents, polynyas, sea ice and the eider duck mass die-off. February-March 1992 Public hearings on scope of Great Whale project impact study held in Val D’Or, Chisasibi, -, Sanikiluaq, and Montreal Oct 1992 Great Whale river conservation participants, Senator Franz Leichter and Assemblyman William Hoyt hold Legislative hearings in New York against James Bay Project. Assemblyman Hoyt proposes legislation in New York legislature to stop the project. New York Governor Mario Cuomo pulls out of the 13 billion dollar James Bay Hydro-electric contract dealing the project serious blow. Oct 1994 Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau announced that the James Bay Hydroelectric project would be ”shelved”. 1996 Documentary “Power” opens at TIFF and Cree reunite with Robert Kennedy Jr. Planet power. (documentary ‘Power’ chronicles the and Robert Kennedy Jr.’s successful efforts to stop the Great Whale Project of Hydro Quebec)(Brief Article) Article from: Maclean’s | September 23, 1996 Talk about power. Environmental activist and lawyer Robert Kennedy Jr. used his clout last week to help shed light on the Toronto International Film Festival’s premier of Power, a documentary chronicling the Cree’s successful six-year battle to halt Hydro Quebec’s Great Whale project. Kennedy took up the cause on Earth Day, 1990, when Cree and Inuit leaders arrived in New York City after paddling an odeyak-a combination canoe and kayak-from Montreal to dramatize the potential havoc the massive hydroelectric project would wreak on their lands in northern Quebec. Kennedy then worked closely with Cree Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come, among others, to bring about the cancellation of Hydro Quebec’s $17-billion contract with New York state. Last week, the two friends got together again at a news conference and parade for Power, which opened last week. Kennedy was also the guest of honor at a $100-a-ticket fund-raiser for the fi lm’s debt-ridden director Magnus Isacsson and producer Glen Salzman, at the home of civil rights lawyer Clayton Ruby. The fi lm, Kennedy adds, is now a powerful tool in the environmentalists’ fi ght against “treating the planet as a business in liquidation, converting all of our natural resources into cash.” 1997 Voices from the Bay: Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Inuit and Cree in Hudson Bay Bioregion published by Environmental Committee of the Municipality of Sanikiluaq and Canadian Arctic Resources Committee. It presents, Traditional Knowledge and perspectives on environmental change and effects of development including hydroelectricity from 23 shoreline communities of the Hudson Bay Inland Sea in Foxe Basin, Hudson Bay, James Bay and Hudson Strait. Summer 1997 Environment Canada publishes survey for Common Eiders documenting a 75% decline in the breeding population since the mass mortality event documented by Inuit in 1991/2 2000 Environment Canada initiates winter pilot study to assess winter sea ice habitats for birds and mammals 2002 & 2003 Ph.D. Student Joel Heath begins in-depth study of Common Eider winter ecology in sea ice habitats, including underwater monitoring at polynyas in collaboration with Environment Canada and Sanikiluaq HTA/Environment Committee. Additional mass mortality events of eiders are documented during winter 2002 and 2003 during on the ground research. Aerial surveys and movement studies conducted by Environment Canada. 2002-2004 Quebec & Grand Council of the Crees sign the Paix des Braves agreement leading to development of the Eastmain 1A and Rupert River hydroelectricity project. It is an Agreement respecting a new relationship between the Cree Nation and the Government of Quebec. Quebec and Nunavik Inuit sign a similar agreement. No restitution is signed with the Belcher Islands (Sanikiluaq) Inuit. When the Nunavik Inuit and James Bay Cree sat down with the Government of Quebec and signed two agreements that put into motion how the Quebec James Bay and Nunavik territories will be developing from an economic standpoint over the next 25 years. Unlike the past, these new agreements cover more than just one hydroelectric development. They are also inclusive of the development of infrastructure, and resources in forestry and tourism. Under the Quebec-Cree agreement, one of the fi rst projects to move forward is the development of the Eastmain 1-A powerhouse and Rupert River diversion for hydroelectricity.

Sanikiluaq was not included in these agreements, and many of the concerns the community of Sanikiluaq raised with the proposed Great Whale hydroelectric development in the early 1990s still have not been addressed. There still aren’t answers to those original questions. 2003 Nunavuummi Tasiujarjuamiuguqatigiit Katutjiqatigiingit (NTK aka The Nunavut Hudson Bay Interagency Working Group) formed in 2003 to help Sanikiluaq research and present fi ndings on downstream effects of James Bay hydroelectricity developments on the Hudson Bay marine ecosystem. NTK is an inter-agency environmental working group for Hudson Bay in Nunavut composed of the Municipality of Sanikiluaq, the Government of Nunavut, and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI), which is the Nunavut-wide Inuit land claims organization and QIA which is our regional land claims organization. NTK participated extensively in the federal review of the Eastmain-1-A and Rupert Diversion project that was established under the Canadian Environmental Assessment and made a submission to the joint Federal-Quebec review panel. 2003-2005 Scientifi c and Technical assessments prepared on behalf of NTK and under contract to the Municipality of Sanikiluaq on infl ux of freshwater from la Grande Complex on Hudson Bay Marine Ecosystem 2004 Community of Sanikiluaq notices changes in benthic invertebrates (sea cucumbers and mussels) including discoloration. Unusual inputs of freshwater identifi ed as a possible mechanism by independent university scientists 2005 Environmental Committee of Municipality of Sanikiluaq & NTK prepare for design of Hudson Bay Community-based Environmental Monitoring System 2005 Joel Heath publishes manuscripts on winter ecology of Common Eiders with Environment Canada, and forms preliminary stages of Arctic Eider Society to raise funding for additional research, education and outreach about environmental change in Hudson Bay 2006 Hydro Quebec has conducted a preliminary study on marine impacts of freshwater plumes before the proposed Rupert expansion. The provincial utility choose an arbitrarily low salinity threshold of 20ppt and claim freshwater doesn’t extend into Hudson Bay and so they are not obliged to consider impacts on the marine ecosystem. NTK responds. Response from scientifi c review (G. Ingram report, 2006) for Federal Quebec Joint Review Panel for Eastmain 1-A and Rupert Diversion Project Environmental Assessment. Documents fi led as part of the environmental and social assessment process.

“Comments on the choice of the 20 ppt isohaline as the maximum extent of the modifi ed LaGrande River plume as an impact on the coastal environment are justifi ed. The proponent was unwilling to sample over larger areas to delineate the extent of the coastal environment that is modifi ed by the larger winter discharge. Two aspects need to be addressed by the proponent: Winter sampling over a much wider area (eg. 25 ppt) to determine the changes to surface salinity and vertical stratifi cation; A numerical plume model for both ice covered and open water coastal conditions. The empirical model used by the proponent is insuffi cient to use a predictive tool for changes to plume extent as a function of increased discharge with varying sea ice cover…No evidence of a detailed analysis of sea ice cover is considered in the environmental impact statement.

No observations are available to confi rm the suggested possibility of the La Grande plume waters dispersing to the northwest side of James Bay. Existing oceanographic data that date from before development do not show evidence of westward expansion.

A number of scenarios are presented in these documents with suggested patterns for physical variables for the present and planned discharge levels of the . These cannot be substantiated because of the lack of oceanographic data over large areas of James Bay presently infl uenced by the altered fresh water input. Predictions about future patterns are limited by the lack of knowledge about current conditions”

Plans on how to monitor future cumulative impacts of hydroelectric projects on Hudson and James Bays. Responsibilities of Hydro-Quebec in this matter. The present data base is insuffi cient to monitor changes in the coastal environment resulting from hydroelectric development, both current and planned. Sampling over a much wider area to determine the dilution impact of the La Grande River plume is required at least seasonally, with higher frequency (monthly) sampling during the winter-spring period (conditions when high discharge is coupled with coastal ice cover). Temperature, salinity, nutrient concentrations, and oxygen isotopes (to help determine the origin of the fresh water in the coastal waters) should be sampled. Transects in winter from the mouth of the La Grande River to the Belcher Islands should be done under ice in winter (from high discharge period plus 2 weeks) and in summer. Remote sensing of sea ice characteristics should be done on a routine basis. 2006 An environmental review and assessment of Eastmain 1-A and Rupert Diversion Project, Nunavut on behalf of Sanikiluaq argues case in hearings. Federal Review Panel makes Recommendation 34, Quebec Government includes Condition 8.1 These called upon the Government of Canada to take the lead in setting up an inter-jurisdictional, multi-stakeholder consortium and large-scale research and monitoring program for assessing the cumulative effects of hydroelectric developments on the James Bay/ Hudson Bay marine environments. 2006 Eastmain 1-A & Rupert Diversion hydroelectric project was reviewed by federal and Quebec panels, and approved by the Governments of Quebec and Canada in late 2006. This was one of Stephen Harper’s fi rst acts as Prime Minister of Canada. 2006-2009 NTK Advocates for implementation of recommendation 34, Assessment of cumulative effects on marine environment and an international Hudson Bay Summit 2006 Arctic Eider Society begins production on “People of a Feather” to raise awareness about Inuit culture, sea ice ecosystems in Hudson Bay and impacts of hydroelectric projects on the marine ecosystem Winter 2007 & 2008 Municipality of Sanikiluaq/ NTK Workshops to initiate discussion on Hudson Bay Community Based Environmental Monitoring System with science researchers (2007) and representatives from Nunavik, Chisasibi, Whapmagoostui, Kuujuraapik, Umiujaq and Inukjuak (2008) Representatives from Environmental Committee of Municipality of Sanikiluaq, Eastern James Bay and Eastern Hudson Bay Hunters, Nuiyak School (Sanikiluaq) Students, Nunavut Hudson Bay Interagency Working Group, Kativik Regional Government, Nunavik Research Centre (Makivik), Department of Fisheries and Oceans, University of Manitoba, ArcticNet, Environment Canada, and the Arctic Eider Society participate in workshops Outcomes of the Community Environmental Monitoring System (CEMS) Workshop at Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, 22-26 January 2007 Participants in the workshop agreed on an ecosystem-based approach to monitoring that incorporates traditional knowledge, community observations, and scientifi c studies

2008 NTK Stated Goals:

1) The establishment of a co-operative, inter-jurisdictional stewardship body for Hudson Bay, the second largest inland sea in the world. Hudson Bay is one of the only inland seas without an inter-jurisdictional body for protecting the environment and researching and managing the effects of industrial activities.

2) The development of a community-based, system-wide monitoring and assessment network for reporting on status and trends in the Hudson Bay marine, coastal and river areas at the community level.

3) A major Summit on Hudson Bay that builds consensus on science-based scenarios for Hudson Bay from a synthesis of western scientifi c and traditional ecological knowledge on what is happening and changing in the marine environment, and what can and should be done to prepare for the future.

[Notes: Since participating in the above workshop, The Arctic Eider Society (AES~SEA) has been working towards these main goals identifi ed by NTK (due to funding constraints, NTK has been less operational recently). The AES~SEA collaborates with many inter- jurisdictional agencies however much work remains before this goal is fully reached and cumulative impacts of hydroelectric projects on the marine ecosystem can be established. The AES~SEA has been working hard to implement Goal 2, which it has been making great progress towards in Sanikiluaq, however funding is still limited for expanding these programs to additional communities in Coastal Hudson Bay. Plans have been underway and stalled several times for action 3, however recent outreach activities of the AES~SEA in Iqaluit have hopefully reinvigorated the motivation for this to occur in the near future.] Winter 2007/8 Quick freeze up entraps large groups of eiders in sea ice habitats. Aerial surveys are conducted by Environment Canada, and a signifi cant portion of the population is not detected. Entrapments are documented in detail on fi lm and time lapse for analysis. 2008 Cree from Chisasibi report changes in eelgrass communities north of James Bay 2008 Arctic Eider Society receives funding as one of the largest Training, Education and Outreach projects for International Polar Year, to complete People of a Feather as a feature fi lm and to further develop community based monitoring programs in Sanikiluaq that assess cumulative impacts of environmental change on sea ice ecosystems. 2010 Rupert River Hydroelectric Complex is commissioned and becomes operational 2011 Arctic Eider Society is approved for formal registration as a Federal Charity and incorporates. Feature documentary People of a Feather is completed and premieres at the HotDocs International Film Festival, Toronto, and wins Best Environmental Film at the Vancouver International Film Festival, the fi rst of many awards and critical acclaim. March 2011 Beluga carcasses found on ice indicating entrapment of belugas on south end of islands 2012 Lower Churchill River (Muskrat Falls) hydroelectric project approved for Labrador 2012-13 Arctic Eider Society travels with People of a Feather around the globe, winning over 15 awards at festivals, conducts a theatrical release across Canada. An educational package linked to the fi lm and school curriculum is developed, and educational programs are conducted throughout the Baffi n region of Nunavut, and in southern Canada through HotDocs for Schools Program. Winter 2012 Warm winter in Montreal & New York means little hydroelectric use. Interesting dynamics, as this water could have been put to economic use the previous or following spring, which would have allowed matching timing with the hydrological cycle. Winter 2013 With the new Rupert River project online, and extreme cold winter conditions in Quebec and New York, Hydro Quebec breaks all existing records for electricity demands, and announces that consumers should reduce their consumption if possible. This coincides with extensive freshwater plumes detected reaching the Belcher Islands and a vast quick freeze-up event that entrapped killer whales near Inukjuak, and 70+ Belugas on the south side of the Belcher Islands. Large freshwater ice formations also detected on the surface of sea ice on the south west side of the islands during Arctic Eider Society/Environment Canada research. Winter 2014 Arctic Eider Society begins begins pilot oceanographic study in collaboration with the Univerity of Manitoba to determine the characteristics of freshwater plumes during winter in east Hudson Bay

*Updated December 2013. This is a draft working document; all content should be checked for accuracy with original sources. Please contact us to provide any comments, corrections or additional information.