New York State Public Service Commission Case No

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NEW YORK STATE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION CASE NO. 10-T-0139

Exhibit A Part I - Impacts on First Nations of Canada December 1, 2020 Submittal of North American Megadam Resistance Alliance

October 7, 2020, Pessamit Innu First Nation, Wemotaci Atikamekw First nation, Pikogan, Lac-Simon and Kitcisakik of the Anishnabeg Nation Comments to U.S. Department of Energy on New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) Presidential Permit Application

October 6, 2020, Innu Nation of Labrador Files $4 Billion Claim Against Hydro-Quebec for Damages Caused by the Construction of the Churchill Falls Project

July 24, 2020, The Council of the Innu of Pessamit Letter to Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau

July 24, 2020, The Council of the Innu of Pessamit Letter to Premier of Quebec Francois Legault

April 14, 2020, Innu Nation of Canada Opposes Central Maine Power’s Transmission Line Permit: A Significant Source of the Hydro-Power Has Destroyed Innu Territory

November 20, 2019, The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) to the New Trudeau Government “Now is the Time to Deliver”

August 2, 2010, Submissions of the Uashaunnuat, Innu of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam Re. Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and to Conduct Public Scope Meetings - Champlain Hudson Power Express, Inc

October 7, 2020

Mr. Christopher A. Lawrence [email protected] Electricity Policy Analyst Office of the Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-20) U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Ave. SW Washington, DC 20585

Re: Application for Presidential Permit OE Docket No PP-438 Central Maine Power Company - NECEC

Dear Mr. Lawrence,

Pessamit Innu First Nation, Wemotaci Atikamekw First Nation, Pikogan, Lac-Simon and Kitcisakik of the Anishnabeg Nation, wish to submit comments on the NECEC Project Presidential Permit Application. Our five communities have been established for more than eight thousand years in the Laurentian and Boreal Forests within the current boundaries of the Province of Québec in Canada. We are more than ten thousand registered members represented by our five Band Councils.

The Context of our intervention

We do not intend to express our position on the specific impacts of the NECEC Project in Maine. We want, however, to shed some light on how we view important and fundamental issues such as the source of the electrical power involved, its environmental, social and constitutional legitimacy, subjects that are neither addressed in Québec or Maine environmental analysis for this project.

Our Ancestral and Treaty Rights

Our ancestors lived and prospered for more than 8,000 years on a large part of the territory that is now the Province of Québec. When Europeans first came in contact with North American Native communities, our people occupied specific territories in Northeastern Québec and formed organized societies. We still occupy these same territories, known respectively as “Nitassinan”,” Nitaskinan” and “Nitakinan” which means “our land”. As a whole, our traditional territories cover more than 100,000 square miles.

The recognition by both the Canadian and Québec Governments of our continued occupation of our territories before and after the period of contact with Europeans is the basis of our “Ancestral Rights”.

In 1603, our Chiefs concluded a treaty with Samuel de Champlain representing Henri IV King of France, which permitted the French to settle in our lands. In 1763, during the conquest of Canada by England, our territorial rights were again recognized in the “Royal Proclamation”, signed and issued by the King of England, George III. These two main historic events are the foundation of our “Treaty Rights”.

The Innu, Atikamekw and Anishnabeg Nations have never been conquered, have never given up their rights over their traditional territories, and have never given in to any attempt or accepted any proposal to relinquish these rights.

Negation of our rights

In the middle of the 19th century, our multi-thousand-year-old way of life began to shift. At that time, the balance of power irrevocably reversed with newcomers moving into our ancestral lands. We were gradually pushed back deeper into our territories, and reservations were created by the government of Canada in order to turn us into sedentary communities and prevent our traditional activities from impairing on economic development.

The Government of Québec illicit schemes

Beginning in 1973, following more than a century of setbacks, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized through a series of historic rulings, our Ancestral Rights and the value of treaties with France and England. This led the Canadian Government to enshrine our rights in the Constitution of 1982. From that point on, however, Québec was the only province to refuse this outcome and the changes it involved. Québec’s Government challenged the validity of historic treaties and the existence of our Ancestral Rights. In 1996, the Supreme Court of Canada overturned Québec’s ill-founded position.

Québec Government’s ill will in this matter strategically provided enough time for Hydro- Québec, a state-owned entity, to proceed with the invasion of our traditional territories. As a result, thirty-three (33) hydroelectric plants, numerous reservoirs and transmission lines were implanted on our territories in the 20th century, without impact studies, without our consent and without compensation. This state-run extortion endeavor now provides for 36% of Hydro-Québec’s installed capacity illegally acquired at our expense. The Government of Québec, Hydro-Québec’s sole shareholder, has enabled its “entity” to become one of the largest and most profitable energy companies in the western hemisphere. In return, our Nations have been plunged into economic, cultural and social chaos that has no historical equivalent since the contact with Europeans in the 16th century. 3

Hydro-Québec flooded all major rivers in our traditional territories to create 4,000 sq. mi. of hydro-electric reservoirs. These rivers were used as transport routes based on the availability of seasonal food resources and fur harvesting. It resulted in the forced and brutal removal of our members from their traditional territories and their settlement on reservations that were not and are still not structured to ensure the economic well-being of our populations. It goes without saying that in so doing, the Government of Québec and Hydro-Québec are directly and with impunity violating several historic treaties, provincial and federal laws and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

NECEC Project

Pessamit, Wemotaci, Pikogan, Lac-Simon and Kitcisakik wish to respectfully confirm that the DOE’s decision regarding the NECEC Project, will have a major albeit indirect effect on both our Aboriginal Rights and the environment. A DOE decision in favour of this project could support the Québec and Canadian Governments’ failure to comply with principles enshrined in the Constitution of 1982, a number of Supreme Court rulings and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

We are concerned that the DOE Environmental Analysis has not been provided access to important information regarding the cross-border environmental impacts of the NECEC Project. In relation to this project, we can demonstrate the following:

• Detrimental and irreversible impacts affecting our human and constitutional rights as well as international conventions jointly signed by Canada and U.S.A.

• That 36% of the electricity destined for importation by Hydro-Québec to New England, still constitutionally belongs to our First Nations.

Conclusion

Our First Nations have lived for more than 8,000 years in our traditional territories and we still aspire to prosper in respectful harmony with our natural heritage. However, Hydro- Québec activities have profoundly affected the integrity of our territories and have directly collided with our Ancestral and Treaty Rights. Hydro-Québec, with the complicity of the Québec and Canadian Governments, have ravaged our social harmony and rendered it destitute. We strongly state that the forced migration of our First Nations is a defining act of a cultural genocide.

For decades, we have tried to work within the confines of the democratic and political venues in Québec to enforce the recognition of our rights. Our action outside of Canada’s borders aims to change the course of history or, at least, to make New Englanders aware that 36% of the electricity that Hydro-Québec intends to sell through the NECEC was acquired in an immoral and illegal manner, to the detriment of our First Nations. 4

Pessamit, Wemotaci, Pikogan, Lac-Simon and Kitcisakik require that remedial measures on our traditional territories be put in place before any new export project to the United States is carried out. We confirm our firm opposition to the Appalachian–Maine Interconnection Line and its connection with NECEC as long as our rights are not respected.

We hope to have successfully highlighted our legitimate concerns about the repercussions of implementing the NECEC Project. More detailed information directly related to this letter is available on our site http://quebechydroclash.com.

We urge you to take into consideration our standpoint, especially the aspects based on principles of international moral codes and law, as part of your decision regarding the NECEC Project. We remain available if you need further information.

In order to corroborate our statements, we would be pleased and honoured to welcome a delegation from the DOE on our traditional territories, to objectively assess Hydro- Québec’s so-called “clean energy”.

Sincerely yours,

______Gérald Hervieux Guy Laloche James Cananasso on behalf of on behalf of on behalf of Pessamit Band Council Wemotaci Band Council Pikogan Band Council

______Lucien Wabanonik Regis Penosway on behalf of on behalf of Lac-Simon Band Council Kitcisakik Band Council

News Release

“We were never consulted or compensated for this use of our land — in fact, we were never even told that, below the dam, the Churchill River would be reduced to a trickle, that Churchill Falls would cease to exist, and that our canoes, camps, trap lines, hunting grounds and our ancestors’ burial sites would be drowned forever by the Smallwood Reservoir.” - Late Daniel Ashini, former Grand Chief of the Innu Nation

FIFTY YEARS PAST DUE

INNU NATION OF LABRADOR FILES $4 BILLION CLAIM AGAINST HYDRO-QUÉBEC FOR DAMAGES CAUSED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHURCHILL FALLS PROJECT.

Tuesday, October 6, 2020 • St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador – The Innu Nation of Labrador announced today that it has filed a $4 billion claim against Hydro-Québec in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador as compensation for the illegal taking of their land in Labrador in 1969 to build the Churchill Falls hydro-electric project. This project was built on land that forms part of the land claim of the Innu Nation that is being negotiated with Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada.

“Over 50 years ago, Hydro-Québec and the provincial utility in Newfoundland and Labrador now called Nalcor Energy, through the Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation, stole our land and flooded it in order to take advantage of the enormous hydro potential of the Churchill Falls,” stated Grand Chief Etienne Rich. “This project was undertaken without consulting us and without our consent.”

“For decades,” continued the Grand Chief, “we have tried to meet with Hydro-Québec officials to get them to take responsibility and compensate us for this injustice. Despite its stated commitment to working in partnership with indigenous communities and nations, Hydro-Québec has repeatedly refused to address our issues. Many of our elders have passed on without seeing justice done. We were left with no other alternative than to seek justice through the courts.”

For thousand of years, the Labrador Innu lived, hunted, trapped, and were buried on this land. An area larger than Prince Edward Island was flooded to create the Smallwood Reservoir. Other Innu lands were taken for transmission corridors and access roads. As a result, many areas of cultural, historical, and spiritual significance were submerged or affected, Innu gravesites were destroyed, and many Innu hunters lost equipment when their seasonal campsites were flooded. The flooding and the ruined shorelines caused irreparable damage to the ecosystem, traditions, and livelihood of the Innu people.

Hydro-Québec played an essential role in the construction of Churchill Falls. Without Hydro-Québec, this project would never have been built.

Until 2011, the Innu had never been compensated for these damages. In 2011, with the signing of the Upper Churchill Redress Agreement, Nalcor Energy agreed to provide some compensation for the damages caused by the Churchill Falls project.

“While Hydro-Québec has made tens of billions of dollars from taking the power from Churchill Falls and selling it to the US, it has repeatedly refused to engage in dialogue and to address this travesty,” asserted Deputy Grand Chief MaryAnn Nui.

The Innu claim flies in the face of Hydro-Québec’s positioning as a socially and environmentally responsible crown corporation. For example, Hydro-Québec suggests that it strives “to develop sustainable, mutually beneficial partnerships with indigenous communities and nations, based on respect for values and cultures. Communities work with us from the initial stages of a project and, together, we make sure that the facilities remain socially acceptable throughout their service lives.”1

The Innu know that the flooded reservoir lands will never be restored. They cannot get the land back. As a result, they are asking for a fair share of the tremendous profits being made by Hydro-Québec from the destruction of their lands.

“What has been lost is priceless,” explained Nancy Kleer of Olthuis, Kleer, Townshend LLP which represents the Innu Nation. “In this case, there is no going back to fix what was lost. The only measure of justice left that the courts can give is a share of Hydro-Québec’s profits. Some have estimated that Hydro-Québec has already made up to $80 billion from Churchill Falls – and stands to make up to $150 billion by the end of the power purchase contract in 2041. In this claim, the Innu are asking for a fair share of Hydro-Québec’s profits, which will be at least 4 billion dollars based on estimates.”

“We are asking the courts to afford us justice for the damages done by Hydro-Québec to our land, our culture and our traditions, and we remain open to negotiations with them,” concludes Grand Chief Etienne Rich. “Hydro-Québec’s bill is fifty years past due. The time has come for them to take responsibility for their actions.” - 30 -

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For additional information, as well as photos and videos: www.50yearspastdue.ca

INTERVIEW REQUESTS

Contact for interviews (French): Contact for interviews (English): Michèle LaForest Donna Paddon Avenue Strategic Communications Kashkuan Communications (514) 970-9617 (709) 899-5799 [email protected] [email protected]

1 Hydro-Québec and Indigenous Communities - PARTNERS FOR OVER 40 YEARS 2

The Council of the Innu of Pessamit

Wemotac\

BY EMAIL: [email protected]

July 24, 2020

The Right Honorable Justin Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada Langevin Building Ottawa, Ontario KIA OA2

Mr. Prime Minister,

Over the past hundred years or so, First Nations have borne the brunt of successive hydroelectric developments that have allowed Quebec to industrialize and the majority of its citizens to access a better quality of life. These successive and massive hydroelectric developments in traditional territories have never translated into a better quality of life for the members of the communities concerned. On the contrary, the occupation without warning and the irreversible industrialization of traditional territories has disrupted the way of life and the socioeconomic balance of the communities.

Pessamit and Wemotaci are by far the most impacted by these hydroelectric developments. In addition to being driven out of our traditional territories, we have been excluded de facto from the improved quality of life desired by governments for the non- Indigenous citizens of Quebec. By leaving our communities without resources and without compensation, the Government of Quebec, with the tacit complicity of the Government of Canada, has established two classes of citizens in the province. This state of affairs still persists since the Government of Quebec is still unwilling to respond to our legitimate and repeated requests to resolve these historic injustices. Let us recall that after having been stripped of the ability to pursue our traditional way of life on our historic territory, our members were brutally pushed into the cramped limits of the reserves and thus forced into idleness. This policy of cultural genocide still has serious consequences for the socioeconomic status of Pessamit and Wemotaci today. Indeed, all internationally recognized well-being indicators show that we are far behind compared to the entire population of Quebec and Canada. Even worse, the indicators which concern us are comparable to those of third world countries.

These changes by Hydro-Québec have also profoundly changed the course of history by violating, with impunity, ancestral rights and the spirit of the historic treaties entered into with France and England. What is more, the contemptuous manner in which these projects were set up and are still operated violates the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and our rights enshrined in the Canadian constitution.

The most recent legal episode in the Quebec government’s crusade to evade the ancestral rights of the First Nations ended in 1996. The Supreme Court of Canada then definitively put an end to Quebec’s claims that the First Nations had no ancestral rights over the territory of the province. The illegitimate position of the Government of Quebec nevertheless had given it enough time to de facto dispossess the First Nations of their traditional territories. This Supreme Court decision did not, however, convince Quebec to apply the necessary corrective measures. Since then, successive provincial governments have embarked on a strategy of perpetually delaying enforcement of the Supreme Court ruling. In doing so, Quebec scandalously awarded itself a suspended sentence. It is therefore clear that Quebec’s position, both historically and now, remains immutably the same, namely, not to apply the constitutional principle of the Honor of the Crown.

With one exception, all of Hydro-Québec’s hydroelectric facilities on the Pessamit Nitassinan were installed without authorization and without compensation. The Crown corporation operates twelve (12) hydroelectric production plants and eleven (11) reservoirs illegitimately on the Pessamit Nitassinan. These production facilities were commissioned between 1932 and 1978. The total power illegitimately installed on the of Pessamit Nitassinan is 10,042 MW.

The Wemotaci Nitaskinan is impacted by the presence of eleven (11) hydroelectric installations, nine (9) of which have never been the subject of consultations and even less of accommodations on the part of the Government of Quebec and Hydro- Québec. These production facilities were commissioned between 1911 and 1958. The total capacity illegitimately installed on the Wemotaci Nitaskinan is 1,892 MW.

Our two communities were dispossessed of their lands by the Government of Quebec and Hydro-Québec with the consent of the Government of Canada. In total, 21 production structures, some 10,000 km2 of reservoirs, tens of thousands of kilometers of transmission and distribution lines, and new roads, have been illegally installed on our traditional territories. These infrastructures are still operated by Hydro-Québec in violation of the rights recognized by the Constitutional Act of 1982 and the 1996 ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada.

In light of the repeated and unsuccessful attempts by our communities over decades to resolve these historic injustices, it is obvious that the Government of Quebec and Hydro- Quebec have never been interested in settling the matter. It is also evident that the uncoordinated efforts of individual First Nations to obtain justice have merely consolidated the Government of Quebec and Hydro-Québec in their historic position of denial. This observation stems from Quebec’s dilatory process which has been going on for decades. It has been admirably effective in thwarting any possibility of settlement.

The Innu and Atikamekws have never been conquered, have never ceded their rights, nor accepted the extinction of these rights. Currently, 33% of the total hydroelectric power installed by Hydro-Québec comes from our territories protected by ancestral rights and treaties. The illegitimate and unconstitutional seizure of these lands on the part of the Quebec government and its Crown corporation for nearly a century must end. The same is true of the appropriation of production income.

The opportunity to re-establish the balance of power between our First Nations, governments, and Hydro-Québec has now arrived. This opportunity is all the more important given that Hydro-Québec’s export intentions are contested in the United States. This is easily explained when we see that the residents of Maine would have to undergo the long term impacts of a transmission line to Massachusetts when they would derive little or no benefit from it. The people of Maine find themselves to some extent in the same situation that was imposed in the past and which still affects our First Nations. Pessamit and Wemotaci intend to testify in the United States concerning Quebec and Hydro-Québec’s age-old way of doing things. The similarity of perpetual inequities targeting the weakest is indeed outrageously startling.

In terms of legitimacy of action, we remind you that 33% of the energy that Hydro-Québec intends to sell in the United States has been appropriated from Pessamit and Wemotaci. We are therefore fully entitled to participate in the debate to protect our interests. To do this, we have arguments and irrefutable evidence to show that the government of Quebec, through its Crown corporation and with the complicity of the Canadian government, has seized the resources of our territories without regard to ancestral rights, under Aboriginal title and the Canadian Constitution.

The injustices described above also affect other Atikamekw and Anishnabe communities which should also make their voices heard soon, together with Pessamit and Wemotaci. Hydro-Québec has never had and still does not have the moral and constitutional legitimacy to operate 33 of the 63 production facilities on the traditional territories of the three aforementioned First Nations. This is 52% of the Crown corporation’s generating fleet. Hydro-Québec has even less the legitimacy to sell electricity in the United States when 13,179 MW, or 36% of the installed capacity in Quebec has been usurped. The First Nations concerned will not allow Hydro-Québec to benefit from their heritage without openly taking part in the debate currently underway in the United States.

The time has come to expose more broadly the situation that prevails in Quebec regarding the rights of First Nations, specifically to potential Hydro-Québec customers in the United States. The imminent contribution of Pessamit and Wemotaci to the permitting processes in the State of Maine could be decisive for the future of the export of electricity to the United States, more particularly if firm commitments are not made publicly and promptly to us on the international stage.

With a view to an international debate, the governments of Quebec and Canada will be invited by Pessamit and Wemotaci to express their views unequivocally: either endorse

Hydro-Quebéc’s approach to the detriment of the Honor of the Crown principle, or make a formal and swift commitment to respecting our constitutional and human rights.

In terms of human rights, Pessamit and Wemotaci have a moral obligation to participate in the international debate regarding systemic racism. After a century of denial by the Government of Quebec and apathy by the Government of Canada, we have the firm intention of demonstrating that the human rights of our members have been and still are violated within the framework of a structural and still operational policy of cultural genocide.

As part of the previously explained context, we respectfully wish to inform you of the common approach we are undertaking without delay in the United States. However, we agree to postpone it as soon as we obtain the following commitments from the governments of Quebec and Canada. First, that our members will henceforth be treated according to the same standards of fairness as those applied to non-Indigenous citizens of Quebec and Canada. Secondly, that the collective compensation which is due to us for the damages which have been caused by the unconstitutional hydroelectric developments be paid to us immediately.

Respectfully yours,

The Chief of Pessamit, The Chief of Wemotaci, René Simon François Néashit

The Council of the Innu of des Ali Pessamit

BY EMAIL : [email protected]

July 24, 2020

Mr. François Legault Premier of Quebec Honoré-Mercier Building, 3rd floor 835, boul. René-Lévesque East Quebec (Quebec) GIA IB4

Dear Premier Legault,

Over the past hundred years or so, First Nations have borne the brunt of successive hydroelectric developments that have allowed Quebec to industrialize and the majority of its citizens to access a better quality of life. These successive and massive hydroelectric developments in traditional territories have never translated into a better quality of life for the members of the communities involved. On the contrary, the occupation without warning and the irreversible industrialization of traditional territories has disrupted the way of life and the socioeconomic balance of the communities.

Pessamit and Wemotaci are by far the most impacted by these hydroelectric developments. In addition to being driven out of our traditional territories, we have been excluded de facto from the improved quality of life desired by governments for the non- Indigenous citizens of Quebec. By leaving our communities without resources and without compensation, the Government of Quebec, with the tacit complicity of the Government of Canada, has established two classes of citizens in the province. This state of affairs continues today since the Government of Quebec is still unwilling to respond to our legitimate and repeated requests to resolve these historic injustices. Let us recall that after having been stripped of the ability to pursue our traditional way of life on our historic territory, our members were brutally pushed into the cramped limits of the reserves and thus forced into idleness. This policy of cultural genocide still has serious consequences for the socioeconomic status of Pessamit and Wemotaci today. Indeed, all internationally recognized well-being indicators show that we are far behind compared to the entire population of Quebec and Canada. Even worse, the indicators which concern us are comparable to those of Third World countries.

The most recent legal episode in the Quebec government’s crusade to evade the ancestral rights of the First Nations ended in 1996. The Supreme Court of Canada then definitively put an end to Quebec’s claims that the First Nations had no ancestral rights over the territory of the province. The illegitimate position of the Government of Quebec nevertheless had given it enough time to de facto dispossess the First Nations of their traditional territories. This Supreme Court decision did not, however, convince Quebec to apply the necessary corrective measures. Since then, successive provincial governments have embarked on a strategy of perpetually delaying enforcement of the Supreme Court ruling. In doing so, Quebec has awarded itself a suspended sentence. It is therefore clear that Quebec’s position, both historically and now, remains immutably the same, namely not to apply the constitutional principle of the Honour of the Crown.

With one exception, all of Hydro-Québec’s hydroelectric facilities on the Pessamit Nitassinan were installed without authorizations and without compensation. The Crown corporation operates twelve (12) hydroelectric production plants and eleven (11) reservoirs illegitimately on the Pessamit Nitassinan. These production facilities were commissioned between 1932 and 1978. The total power illegitimately installed on the Pessamit Nitassinan is 10,042 MW.

The Wemotaci Nitaskinan is impacted by the presence of eleven (11) hydroelectric installations, nine (9) of which have never been the subject of consultations and even less of accommodations on the part of the Government of Quebec and Hydro-Québec. These production facilities were commissioned between 1911 and 1958. The total capacity illegitimately installed on the Wemotaci Nitaskinan is 1,892 MW.

Our two communities were dispossessed of their lands by the Government of Quebec and Hydro-Québec with the consent of the Government of Canada. In total, 21 production structures, some 10,000 km2 of reservoirs, tens of thousands of kilometres of transmission and distribution lines, and new roads, have been illegally installed on our traditional territories. These infrastructures are still operated by Hydro-Québec in violation of the rights recognized by the Constitutional Act of 1982 and the 1996 ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada.

In light of the repeated and unsuccessful attempts by our communities over decades to resolve these historic injustices, it is obvious that the Government of Quebec and Hydro- Quebéc have never been interested in settling the matter. It is also evident that the uncoordinated efforts of individual First Nations to obtain justice have merely consolidated the Government of Quebec and Hydro-Québec in their historic position of denial. This observation stems from Quebec’s dilatory process which has been going on for decades. It has been incredibly effective in thwarting any possibility of settlement.

The opportunity to re-establish the balance of power between our First Nations, governments, and Hydro-Québec has now arrived. This opportunity is even more important given that Hydro-Québec’s export intentions are contested in the United States. This is easily explained when we see that the residents of Maine would have to experience the long term impacts of a transmission line to Massachusetts when they would derive little or no benefit from it. The people of Maine find themselves to some extent in the same situation that was imposed in the past and which still affects our First Nations. Pessamit and Wemotaci intend to testify in the United States concerning Quebec and Hydro-Québec’s age-old way of doing things. The similarity of perpetual inequities targeting the weakest is indeed outrageously startling.

In terms of legitimacy of action, we remind that 33% of the energy that Hydro-Québec intends to sell in the United States has been appropriated from Pessamit and Wemotaci. We are therefore fully entitled to participate in the debate to protect our interests. To do this, we have arguments and irrefutable evidence to show that the government of Quebec, through its Crown corporation and with the complicity of the Canadian government, has seized the resources of our territories without regard to ancestral rights, under Aboriginal title and the Canadian Constitution.

With a view to an international debate, the governments of Quebec and Canada will be invited by Pessamit and Wemotaci to express their views unequivocally: either endorse

Hydro-Quebéc’s approach to the detriment of the Honour of the Crown principle, or make a formal and swift commitment to respecting our constitutional and human rights.

As part of the previously explained context, we respectfully wish to inform you of the common approach we are undertaking without delay in the United States. However, we agree to postpone it as soon as we obtain the following commitments from the governments of Quebec and Canada. First, that our members will henceforth be treated according to the same standards of fairness as those applied to non-Indigenous citizens of Quebec and Canada. Secondly, that the collective compensation which is due to us for the damages which have been caused to us by the unconstitutional hydroelectric developments be paid to us immediately.

Respectfully yours,

The Chief of Pessamit The Chief of Wemotaci

René Simon François Néashit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INNU NATION OF CANADA OPPOSES CENTRAL MAINE POWER’S TRANSMISSION LINE PERMIT: A Significant Source of the Hydro- Power Has Destroyed Innu Territory

April 14, 2020 (Natuashish, Canada) — The Innu Nation, an Indigenous people of Labrador, Canada last night filed comments with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection on Central Maine Power’s (CMP) proposed “New England Clean Energy Connect” project (NECEC), stating that a significant hydro-power source for the project has destroyed the Innu way of life. According to the Innu Nation, Hydro- Québec, the government-owned hydro-power giant, has ignored the Innu Nation’s request for redress in violation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Innu have lived in most of the territory of Labrador for thousands of years. They rely upon its rich resources of fish, caribou, and other wildlife for their subsistence and cultural practices. Mista-Shipu, known in English as the “Churchill River,” is the longest river in Labrador and critical to the Innu way of life. Construction of the Churchill Falls Generating Station (CFGS), which finished in 1974, at the time the second largest hydro-electric project of its kind in the world, transformed the River into a massive 2,566 square mile reservoir, causing flooding of Innu homelands larger than the State of Delaware. The water from this reservoir powers the CFGS, which Hydro-Québec, in turn, seeks to sell with CMP through the NECEC.

“The Innu were not consulted about this flooding, and we certainly did not consent to it,” states the Innu Nation’s Grand Chief Gregory Rich in his declaration accompanying the comments. “We were not even told when the flooding would begin, or the degree to which the water would rise,” states the Grand Chief. His declaration describes extensive losses suffered by the Innu People:

[The flooding] destroyed our use of the area, and . . . the habitats of animals living there. Our hunting and trapping lands were inundated. Innu whose families had hunted in the region for generations lost their canoes, traps, Atiku (caribou) hide scrapers, and other tools that they stored in caches along the river’s edges. Beaver in the headwater ponds froze to death because of reduced water levels. Salmon spawning grounds were destroyed. Fish living in the Reservoir have been poisoned with methylmercury. Atiku calving grounds and

waterfowl nesting areas were drowned. We also lost the bones of our ancestors. Their burial grounds are now underwater.

Hydro-Québec, to this day, continues to ignore the Innu Nation’s requests for redress.

In submissions to public agencies and to the media, CMP consistently characterizes the NECEC project as “clean” energy. Innu Nation believes that it is extremely important for the people of Maine to know that despite multiple and continuing assertions of CMP, and by implication, Hydro-Québec, that the proposal to NECEC is in fact NOT ‘clean’ energy generation and approval for the project will adversely affect Innu traditional territory.

The Innu Nation’s rights are protected by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a charter endorsed by the State of Maine, the United States, the Canadian Government, and almost 150 countries around the world. The principle behind the Declaration is that lands and livelihoods should not be taken from Indigenous peoples unless they freely consent to it. More details about the Declaration are available below.

The Innu Nation asks the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) to order Central Maine Power to provide - prior to the start of the construction - written proof of Innu Nation’s authorization to Hydro-Québec to use Innu Territory to supply power through the NECEC.

Innu Nation is responsible for the protection, promotion and advancement of the legal, constitutional and Aboriginal rights of the Innu of Labrador.

An abridged version of the Innu Nation’s comments to the DEP are attached and the full version can be provided by email.

For more information:

Donna Paddon Innu Nation Communications [email protected] 709-899-5799

Senwung Luk OKT LLP [email protected] 416-981-9443

Specific provisions of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

• “States shall provide effective mechanisms for prevention of, and redress for … [a]ny action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing [Indigenous peoples] of their lands, territories or resources.”

• “States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them.”

• “Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use, as well as those which they have otherwise acquired. States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and resources.”

• “States shall undertake effective consultations with the indigenous peoples concerned, through appropriate procedures and in particular through their representative institutions, prior to using their lands or territories for military activities.”

• “States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources. States shall provide effective mechanisms for just and fair redress for any such activities, and appropriate measures shall be taken to mitigate adverse environmental, economic, social, cultural or spiritual impacts.”

STATE OF MAINE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

) CENTRAL MAINE POWER COMPANY ) Applications Pursuant to SLODA and NRPA for ) the New England Clean Energy Connect ) Consisting of the Construction of a 1,200 MW ) COMMENTS OF HVDC Transmission Line from the Québec-Maine ) THE INNU NATION Border to Lewiston (NECEC) ) And Related Network Upgrades ) )

Innu Nation is the elected government of the Innu of Labrador, an Indigenous people of

Canada with a population of approximately 3,200 (the “Innu”). The Nation, pursuant to Chapter

2, Section 18.B, submits comments on the March 13, 2020 Draft Order issued by the Maine

Department of Environmental Protection (the “Department”).

The stated project purpose considered by the Department is for Central Maine Power

(“CMP”) “to deliver up to 1,200 MW of Clean Energy Generation from Québec to the New

England Control Area via a HVDC transmission line.” Draft Order at p. 58; see also id. at p. 15.

As will be explained further below, this project should not be permitted unless the Department imposes a condition that states: “Prior to the start of construction, the applicant must submit to the

Department documentation of permission to use Innu Territory that includes the signature of a duly authorized representative of the Innu Nation.”

I. Introduction

The Innu Nation submits these comments to dispel the multiple and continuing assertions of CMP, and by implication, Hydro-Québec, that the proposed New England Clean Energy

Connect project (the “Project”) is “clean energy generation” or “environmentally friendly.” For the Innu—the aboriginal inhabitants of lands and waters indiscriminately destroyed by Hydro-

Québec to generate the power that CMP wants to transmit through Maine by the Project—nothing could be further from the truth. This Project began as a lucrative partnership between CMP and

Hydro-Québec. See Draft Order at PDF page 196 (“On July 27, 2017, CMP and Hydro Renewable

Energy, Inc., an affiliate of Hydro-Québec, submitted to Massachusetts Electric Distribution

Companies a joint bid proposal, New England Clean Energy Connect: 100% Hydro, in response to the Massachusetts RFP.”). However, this Project and the economic returns it promises for CMP and Hydro-Québec are at the devastating expense of the Innu. The Project unquestionably proposes “use” of the Innu’s territory, and will exacerbate unreasonable adverse impacts thereon.

Neither CMP, nor Hydro-Québec, have sought, nor obtained, the necessary permissions from the

Innu Nation for this “use.” Unless or until they do so, under the plain language of Department’s own rules, the Department must either deny CMP’s application or condition any permit approval on CMP and Hydro-Québec obtaining the necessary permissions from the Innu Nation. In addition to the Department’s rules, this result would be required by faithful adherence to the United Nations

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which has been endorsed by the State of Maine, the United States, and the Canadian Government. If CMP and Hydro-Québec fail to satisfy this condition, the stated project purpose of delivering clean energy generation from Québec to the

New England Control Area is, by definition, impossible to accomplish.

II. Background

The Innu have lived on the Québec-Labrador Peninsula (“Nitassinan”, in Innu-aimun) since time immemorial. As explained by Grand Chief Gregory Rich of Innu Nation in his

Declaration signed April 9, 2020, attached hereto as Exhibit 1, the Innu are hunters who have travelled over these lands in family groups from time out of mind, using timeworn travelling routes

2 to hunt, fish, gather and trade. Travelling was central to the Innu identity, since through travel they maintained their social and ceremonial connections with other Innu, neighbouring peoples, and the land. Innu gatherings at central locations for trade and cultural events, including near

Churchill Falls, have been integral to their way of life.

The traditional territory of the Innu is in the far northeast of mainland North America. It is shown in yellow in the map below (Figure 1).1 They have lived here for thousands of years.

Figure 1: Map of the territory of the Innu of Labrador The Innu were able to resist the forces of colonization and maintain their way of life until resource developers started looking in earnest at their lands starting in the 1950s, at which point they were forced into settled communities by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Innu now reside primarily in two communities, Sheshatshiu and Natuashish, marked by blue pins in Figure 1.

1 Exhibit B to the Declaration of Grand Chief Rich. 3

The Innu’s territory is a harsh environment for those not skilled in living on the land, which is why it was not until the mid-20th century that colonial powers realized that the resources on the

Québec-Labrador Peninsula are rich and could be exploited for significant profit. Since then, resource developers have started creating projects on the Peninsula to exploit the many resources there. The huge hydroelectric dam at Churchill Falls, the Churchill Falls Generating Station, is one example of this exploitation.

A. Churchill Falls Generating Station

The Churchill Falls Generating Station (“CFGS”) is a massive hydroelectric dam in western Labrador that is powered by an immense, man-made reservoir known as the Smallwood

Reservoir. It was constructed by the Churchill Falls (Labrador) Co. (“CF(L) Co.”) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Hydro-Québec is one of two shareholders of CF(L) Co.

Before the reservoir was created by flooding, this area was a gathering place for the Innu from across the Québec-Labrador Peninsula. It was known to the Innu as the Meshikamau area, named for Lake Meshikamau. The area was rich in fish and wildlife and was on the migration path of two herds of caribou, which are integral to the Innu diet and cultural and spiritual identity.

It was also the location of an important Innu spiritual site, Petshishkapushkau. Meshikamau was also a place where the Innu buried their dead. The importance and history of this area is outlined in Grand Chief Rich’s Declaration (Exhibit 1), together with the Exhibits he has included in that document.2 The Innu Nation incorporates Exhibit 1 and the Exhibits attached thereto into these

Comments by reference.

2 See especially Exhibit C to the Declaration of Grand Chief Rich. 4

The river flowing through and from the Meshikamau Lake is called the Churchill River in

English. It was an important travelling route for the Innu, and had a significant waterfall known in English as Churchill Falls.

B. Destruction to Innu Land and Way of Life

Meshikamau and countless lakes around it were flooded in 1971 to create the Smallwood

Reservoir. The Churchill River was dammed at the Falls.

The Reservoir covers an immense area of approximately 2,566 square miles – larger than the state of Delaware. Figure 2 shows the flooded area, and Lake Meshikamau’s situation in that area. 3 The flooded area was named the Smallwood Reservoir.

Figure 2 Map showing area of the Smallwood Reservoir overlain on the previous Lake Meshikamau shoreline The image below (Figure 3) shows the flooded area, and where Innu travel routes and camps were located prior to the flooding.4

3 Exhibit G to the Declaration of Grand Chief Rich. 4 Exhibit E to the Declaration of Grand Chief Rich. 5

Figure 3 Map showing travel routes and camp locations overlaid by flooded lands Damming the Falls and flooding the lakes above them had correspondingly immense impacts. The flooding destroyed the Meshikamau area’s waters and lands. It destroyed the Innu’s use of the area, and it also destroyed the habitats of animals living there. The Innu’s hunting and trapping lands were inundated. Innu whose families had hunted in the region for generations lost their canoes, traps, caribou-hide scrapers, and other tools that they stored in caches along the river’s edges. Beaver in the headwater ponds froze to death because of reduced water levels. Salmon spawning grounds were destroyed. Fish living in the Reservoir have been poisoned with methylmercury. Caribou calving grounds and waterfowl nesting areas were drowned.

Innu burial grounds surrounding the waterways were also destroyed. Bones have been washed away, and burial grounds have been eroded. The images below show this destruction.5

5 Exhibit H to the Declaration of Grand Chief Rich. 6

Figure 4 Skeletal remains from an Innu cemetery eroding due to flooding

Figure 5 The Late Daniel Ashini on the bank of an eroding Innu cemetery The Innu were not consulted about the building of the CFGS, nor were they consulted about the flooding required to create the Smallwood Reservoir. Their consent to these profound, destructive alterations of their lands and waters was neither sought nor obtained. The Innu were also not told when the flooding would happen, and the scale of it was not explained to them.

Innu lands and waters, and the plants, animals and burial sites on those lands and waters, remain underwater to this day. The water level in the Smallwood Reservoir is controlled to maximize the profitability of Hydro-Québec’s production, having no account for impact of the operation of the CFGS on the continued destruction of Innu lands.

III. CMP’s Claims That the Project Delivers “Clean” Energy Fail to Account for The Destruction of the Innu Way of Life For The Project’s Energy

Blind to the untold destruction of the Innu’s land and resources caused by the Churchill

Falls Generating Station, CMP throughout these and related proceedings and in its advertising campaigns, consistently asserts that the Project is generating “clean” energy from hydro-power sources. Some examples:

“Once the NECEC goes into service in late 2022, it will . . . significantly advance . . . the delivery of clean energy into the ISO-NE Control Area. . . . [through] the injection of 9.45 TWhs of clean hydroelectric energy into ISO-NE. Post-Hearing Brief of CMP, filed with the Maine Public Utilities Commission (Public Version), at 102-103 (Feb. 1, 2019) (emphasis added).

“The NECEC provides Maine and this Commission with the opportunity to . . . facilitate a clean . . . source of energy. . . .” Reply Brief of CMP, filed with the Maine Public Utilities Commission (Public Version), at 7 (Feb. 13, 2019) (emphasis added).

“The incremental hydropower delivered to New England via NECEC is clean. . .” Appellee Brief of CMP, filed with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, at 22-23 (Sept. 23, 2019) (emphasis added).

“[T]he NECEC is designed to . . . deliver the Clean Energy Generation sought by the Massachusetts RFP from Québec-based sources and will be capable of delivering the entire annual quantity of clean energy sought.” Post-Hearing Reply Brief of CMP, filed with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, at 32 (June 28, 2019) (emphasis added).

These statements ignore the ecological and social harm that has been caused in order to create the energy Hydro-Québec is selling.

While Hydro-Québec is a minority shareholder in CF(L) Co., it is entitled to almost all the output of CFGS, by virtue of a contract that will remain in place at least until 2041. CFGS’s generated energy is equal to about one-sixth of the Hydro-Québec system’s total generated energy, and equal to almost the entirety of the amount of energy that Hydro-Québec exports.6 The energy

6 This information and supporting Exhibits are outlined in the Declaration of Grand Chief Rich, paragraphs 26-29. 8 that Hydro-Québec proposes to sell through the NECEC is one-sixth derived from CFGS, which is not a Québec-based source of energy. Hydro-Québec should not be able to take the benefit of the CFGS energy without also being responsible for its burdens on the Innu of Labrador.

Figure 6 below, drawn from an Annual Report of Hydro-Québec shows the location of

CFGS, the only source of generation for Hydro-Québec that is outside of the boundaries of the

Province of Québec.7

Figure 6 Map of Hydro-Québec facilities

7 Exhibit I to the Declaration of Grand Chief Rich. 9

The Innu of Labrador have repeatedly sought reparations from Hydro-Québec for the cultural and ecological destruction caused by the CFGS and the flooding of the Smallwood

Reservoir. Hydro-Québec has just as repeatedly and consistently refused to engage with the Innu.

Hydro-Québec has shown itself to be utterly unrepentant for the destruction and violation of rights that it has participated in, and profited by, for over forty years. Hydro-Québec’s refusal to seek permission from, and to compensate, the Innu of Labrador is in stark contrast with Nalcor Energy, the provincial utility in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador which co-owns the CFGS along with Hydro-Québec. Nalcor Energy agreed in 2011 to compensate the Innu of Labrador for its portion of the damages the project has caused.

IV. The Innu Nation’s Experience Parallels that of the Penobscot Nation in Maine, But Maine, Unlike Québec, Has Recently Begun to Make Amends The destruction of Indigenous lands and resources by large corporations backed by local governments is a story that repeats itself across this continent and throughout the world. Indeed, the experience of the Innu Nation is not dissimilar to that of the Penobscot Nation in Maine. The only difference is that Maine, unlike the Province of Québec and its corporate partner, Hydro- Québec, has finally begun to make amends to the Penobscot People. The historical parallels of exploitation are stark and should not be ignored.8 The Penobscot Nation’s aboriginal territory encompasses the Penobscot River watershed from the River’s headwaters on the Canadian border to the mouth of the River over 100 miles to the south at Penobscot Bay. After ceding the uplands on either side of the River to Massachusetts and Maine in treaties that likely violated federal law in 1796 and 1818, the Penobscot became an entirely river-bound People. In 1950, a bridge was constructed to join their principal reservation at Panawamskeag (“Indian Island” to nontribal people) with the uplands that the Nation had ceded

8 The following is drawn from the Testimony of Kaighn Smith Jr., Esq., Counsel for the Penobscot Nation, on An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act (L.D. 2094): Fish and Game and Land Use and Natural Resources (Task Force Recommendations 7-10),Public Hearing, February 14, 2020 at 6-12 & Exhibits B through J attached thereto. A copy of this testimony (without exhibits) is attached hereto as Exhibit 2. The full testimony with exhibits is accessible at http://legislature.maine.gov/maine-indian-claims-tf 10 in the suspect treaties. From time immemorial, the River served as the principal food source for Penobscot tribal members. Their subsistence fishing, trapping, and hunting practices on the River define their culture and way of life. Throughout their history and continuing into the 1990s, when knowledge of the toxic effects of relying upon the River for food suppressed their subsistence practices, Penobscot families relied upon fish, eel, and other food sources from the River for up to four meals per week to the tune of two to three pounds per meal. But the River’s resources have been devastated by dams for hydro-electric power and paper mills that have used the River to dump toxic waste, including dioxin. As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports, as of 1968, “the Penobscot [River] . . . received the untreated industrial wastes discharged non-stop from seven pulp and paper mills,” five of which flowed directly into the Main Stem of the River (from Indian Island to Medway) – the center of the Penobscots’ remaining aboriginal homeland. In 1964, this was equivalent to “untreated domestic sewage load produced in one day by about 5,000,000 people,” thereby depressing “dissolved oxygen levels . . . as low as zero.” Maine’s support for industrial interests over those of the Penobscot People (just like

Québec’s support for Hydro-Québec over the Innu of Labrador) has marred tribal-state relations for a very long time. Since the Nation’s land claims settlement in 1980, the Maine Attorney General’s office consistently sided with corporations to fight the Penobscot Nation on water quality issues, taking the position that the Nation’s treaty-based fishing rights did not carry any right to water quality to ensure the existence of healthy fish to eat.

In stark contrast to the relationship between the Innu Nation and Québec/Hydro-Québec, however, Maine recently has made efforts to improve tribal-state relations. For example, by forming the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the horrid taking of children from their Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Micmac families, see Beyond the Mandate Continuing the Conversation, Report of the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth & Reconciliation Commission (June 14, 2015),9 and by enacting legislation to set water quality

9Accessible at:

11 standard to protect sustenance fishing, see Maine Public, New Measure Establishes Water Quality Standards for Sustenance Fishing in Maine’s Tribal Waters (June 21, 2019).10 Québec and its state enterprise, Hydro-Québec, have made no similar efforts with respect to the Innu Nation. And the claims that CMP makes to this Department - that the hydro-electric power source for this Project is “clean” - distort the truth and is a continuing affront to the Innu.

V. The Department’s Rules and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Each Require the Applicant to Obtain and Demonstrate Sufficient Permissions from the Indigenous Peoples Whose Territories Will Be Used to Accomplish the Project Purpose

As described above, the Project unquestionably proposes “use” of the Innu’s territory, and will exacerbate unreasonable adverse impacts thereon, all without the necessary permissions for such use. Imposing a condition on CMP to consult with, and obtain permission from, the Innu

Nation is the only way for the Department to ensure that the Project complies with the

Department’s rules and governing states. It is likewise the only way for Maine, and the

Department, to faithfully adhere to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous

Peoples, which has been endorsed by the State of Maine, the United States, and the Canadian

Government. A copy of the UN Declaration is attached here as Exhibit 3.

A. The Department’s Rules and Governing Statutes All Weigh in Favor of the Department Exercising Its Discretion to Impose the Requested Condition.

There are numerous portions of the Department’s rules and governing statutes that give the

Department the discretion to impose the requested condition. First, the Department’s rules require

CMP to demonstrate and maintain “sufficient title, right or interest in all of the property that is

https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/mainewabanakireach/pages/17/attachments/original/146897404 7/TRC-Report-Expanded_July2015.pdf?1468974047 10 Accessible at: https://www.mainepublic.org/post/new-measure-establishes-water-quality-standards-sustenance-fishing- maines-tribal-waters 12 proposed for development or use” Department Rules Chapter 2, Section 11.D. (emphasis added). and this project will unquestionably use the Innu’s territory. Second, the Department’s rules expressly state that it “may as a term or condition of approval, establish any reasonable requirement to ensure that a proposed development will not adversely affect preservation of any historic site.”

Chapter 375 Section 11.D. As used in the Department’s Rules, "historic site" means “any site, structure, district or archaeological site ... is established by qualified testimony as being of historic significance.” Id. at § 11.B. The testimony of Grand Chief Rich unquestionably meets that definition. Third, the Department’s rules provide that it “may, as a term or condition of approval, establish any reasonable requirement to ensure that the proposed development will have no unreasonable adverse effect on” among other things: “air quality,” id. § 1.D, “alteration of climate,” id. § 2.D, “natural drainage ways” id. § 3.C, “runoff/infiltration relationships,” id. § 4.D,

“erosion and sedimentation,” id. § 5.D, “surface water quality,” id. § 6.D, “groundwater quality,” id. § 7.E, “preservation of natural areas,” id. § 12.D, “access to direct sunlight,” id. § 13.C, “scenic character,” id. § 14.D, “wildlife and fisheries,” id. § 15.D, “provision of a sufficient and healthful water supply,” id. § 18.C. As described above, each of these issues is implicated with regard to the effect of this Project on the Innu territory.

Nor is the Department constrained to consider impacts only within the development site, or only on the people of Maine. Instead, the Department has discretion to consider the "potential primary, secondary, and cumulative impacts of the development on the character, quality, and uses of the land, air, and water on the development site and on the area likely to be affected by the proposed development.” Chapter 372, § (1)(A). (emphasis added). The purpose of the statutes applied to this Project by the Department include: that “[i]t is the intention of the Legislature that

... the Department of Environmental Protection provide coordination and vigorous leadership to

13 develop programs to achieve” protection of natural resources that “have great scenic beauty and unique characteristics, unsurpassed recreational, cultural, historical and environmental value of present and future benefit to the citizens of the State,” 38 M.R.S. § 480-A; and the “purpose of this subchapter is to provide a flexible and practical means by which the State, acting through the department, in consultation with appropriate state agencies, may exercise the police power of the

State to control the location of those developments substantially affecting local environment in order to insure that such developments will be located in a manner which will have a minimal adverse impact on the natural environment within the development sites and of their surroundings and protect the health, safety and general welfare of the people,” 38 M.R.S. § 481 (emphasis added). Accordingly, the Legislature has declared that CMP “may not construct or cause to be constructed or operate or cause to be operated … any development of state or regional significance that may substantially affect the environment without first having obtained approval for this construction, operation, lease or sale from the department.” 38 M.R.S. § 483-A(1). Here, CMP asks for such permission from the Department, and advances the supposed climate benefits of its

Project as one of the factors that the Department should consider. In weighing such climate factors, the Legislature has also made clear that the Department should be cognizant of “[m]aximizing involvement in interstate and regional initiatives and programs” and “[p]ursuing actions that minimize deleterious effects, including those on persons of low income and moderate income, to public health and the environment” using strategies that “[e]ncourage diversity, inclusion and equity.” 38 M.R.S. § 577(3)(B) and (7)(B)&(E). The Department should therefore exercise its discretion to condition any approval of this Project on CMP obtaining the necessary permissions from the Innu.

B. Faithful Application of the UN Declaration Requires the Same Result

In April 2008, Maine's state legislature passed a Joint Resolution in support of the UN

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. See H.P. 1681, 123rd Leg., 1st Spec. Sess. (Me.

2008). In November of 2010, Canada similarly lent its support and in December of 2010, the

United States fully endorsed the UN Declaration. The UN Declaration provides certain obligations for States and their administrative agencies, including:

“States shall provide effective mechanisms for prevention of, and redress for … [a]ny action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing [Indigenous peoples] of their lands, territories or resources,” id. at Article 8;

“States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them” id. at Article 19;

“Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use, as well as those which they have otherwise acquired. States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and resources.” Id. at Article 26;

“States shall undertake effective consultations with the indigenous peoples concerned, through appropriate procedures and in particular through their representative institutions, prior to using their lands or territories for military activities.” Id. at Article 28;

“States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.3. States shall provide effective mechanisms for just and fair redress for any such activities, and appropriate measures shall be taken to mitigate adverse environmental, economic, social, cultural or spiritual impacts.” Id. at Article 32.

Separately and together, these provisions—each endorsed by the State of Maine—require that the

Department respect the rights of the Innu Nation and condition any project approval on CMP obtaining such rights.

VI. The Department Should Condition Any Permit on CMP and Hydro-Québec Obtaining the Necessary Permissions From the Innu Nation

The Department has already shown a willingness to condition this proposed permit on CMP obtaining the necessary permissions from Indigenous peoples. When CMP presented its original project route to the Department, it included a lease over Passamaquoddy land that lacked the requisite signature from the United States Secretary of the Interior (the “Secretary”). As a matter of federal law, any lease over Indigenous territory in the United States is void without the approval of the United States government, as trustee. See 25 U.S.C. § 415; 25 U.S.C § 1724(g)(3)(A). That permission must be demonstrated by the signature of the Secretary. Recognizing that CMP had failed to obtain the necessary permissions to cross Indigenous lands, the Department imposed permit condition number 5 in its Draft Order, which states “Prior to the start of construction, the applicant must submit to the Department a copy of the lease that includes the signature of a duly authorized representative of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.” Draft Order at 106. The Department should take the same approach with regard to the Innu Nation.

Thus, the Innu Nation respectfully requests that the Department impose a condition that states: “Prior to the start of construction, the applicant must submit to the Department documentation of permission to use Innu Territory that includes the signature of a duly authorized representative of the Innu Nation.” Although CMP may argue that condition number 5 is now unnecessary as a result of their proposed reroute around Passamaquoddy land, this changes nothing about the above analysis—CMP and Hydro-Québec intend to use Innu territory to accomplish the proposed project purpose. Accordingly, this requested condition is not only warranted by the

Department’s rules and ordinary practice, but is required if Maine, through the Department, is to faithfully adhere to the requirements of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Moreover, as demonstrated by Nalcor Energy’s engagement with the Innu —Nalcor Energy being

16 the provincial utility in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador which co-owns the CFGS along with Hydro-Québec who agreed in 2011 to compensate the Innu of Labrador for its portion of the damages the project has caused—the requested condition would bring CMP in line with the practice of at least some Canadian provincial utilities.

VII. Conclusion

The Project before the Department sources hydro-electric power derived from the devastating destruction of the aboriginal homelands of the Innu Nation and the resources upon which their livelihood and culture are based. The energy that would be passing through Maine to

Massachusetts as a result of the NECEC would come from waters that flow over the drowned animals, destroyed lands, and disturbed burials of the Innu’s homeland. It is not clean energy. To the contrary, it would flow at the cost of the Innu way of life. The Innu Nation therefore respectfully asks the Department to account for this harsh reality as it entertains whether to permit this Project, and to impose the condition of approval here requested by the Innu Nation.

Respectfully submitted this April 13, 2020 by

Drummond Woodsum /s/ Kaighn Smith Jr. 84 Marginal Way, Suite 600 /s/ David M. Kallin Portland, ME 04101 Counsel for the Innu Nation (207) 772-1941 [email protected] [email protected] In consultation with

Olthuis, Kleer, Townshend LLP Nancy J. Kleer Barristers & Solicitors Senwung Luk 250 University Ave, 8th Floor Matt McPherson Toronto, ON M5H 3E5 Julia Brown PH: 416.981.9336 Canadian Counsel for the Innu Nation F: 416.981.9350 not admitted in Maine [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.oktlaw.com

DECLARATION OF GREGORY RICH

STATE OF MAINE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION and STATE OF MAINE LAND USE PLANNING COMMISSION

IN THE MATTER OF

CENTRAL MAINE POWER COMPANY Application for Site Location of Development Act permit and Natural Resources Protection Act permit for the New England Clean Energy Connect (“NECEC”) L-27625-26- A-N L-27625-TB-B-N L-27625-2C-C-N L-27625-VP-D-N L-27625-IW-E-N DECLARATION OF GREGORY RICH

I, Gregory Rich, of Natuashish in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, declare and state as follows:

1. I am the Grand Chief of the Innu Nation Inc., which represents the interests of the Innu of Labrador (the “Innu Nation”).

2. I have served in this capacity since 2017.

3. I submit this declaration in support of the public comments submitted by the Innu Nation in the above matters.

4. I have personal knowledge of the facts stated herein or I have information that I believe to be true upon which the facts stated herein are based.

The Innu of Labrador

5. The Innu of Labrador are an Indigenous people. In our language, Innu-aimun, the name for our land is “Nitassinan”. Our people have lived in Nitassinan for thousands of years. The Innu know this about ourselves, but this presence is also reflected in the archaeological record of Nitassinan. Evidence of our ceremonies going back at least 6000 years has been found. Attached hereto as Exhibit A is one archaeological report that outlines evidence of these ceremonies.

6. Our territory is a large land area in the east of the Quebec-Labrador Peninsula. Currently our people are settled in the two communities of Sheshatshiu and Natuashish, now in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Attached hereto as Exhibit B is a

map of Nitassinan, drawn from the Government of Canada’s Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Information System.

7. The Innu of Labrador have never surrendered our Aboriginal rights in Nitassinan. We are currently negotiating a modern treaty with the Governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador. The three parties reached an Agreement-in-Principle on November 18, 2011.

8. The Innu of Labrador and our ancestors have always lived, used and protected the lands and waters of our traditional and ancestral territories. We were and remain hunters with a deep connection to the land. Prior to our forced settlement into communities in Labrador in the 1950s, the Innu way of life involved travelling across Nitassinan in family groups to hunt, fish, gather, and trade. This travel was central to our identity, since through our travel we maintained our social and ceremonial connections with other Innu, neighbouring peoples, and the land.

9. Our people used to come together for trade and cultural events at important gathering places. One such gathering place was the Meshikamau Lake area, in the interior of Labrador.

10. Meshikamau Lake was a place where several Innu travel routes extending across Nitassinan converged. Innu families from different parts of the Quebec-Labrador peninsula gathered there. The area was rich in fish and wildlife and was on the migration path of two herds of Atiku (caribou), which are an integral part of our identity and culture. Exhibit C is an academic article by Stephen Loring and others that outlines some of this background.

11. Meshikamau is the location of Petshishkapushkau, an important spiritual site for my people. Petshishkapushkau is a rocky hill and is said to be the mystical place of residence of Anikapeu, the Toadman, an animal master of frogs and toads.

12. The Meshikamau area was also a place where we buried our dead.

13. Despite the forces of colonization, the Innu maintained our way of life in Nitassinan until settler resource developers realized the richness of our lands and the colonial government forced us to settle in communities, beginning in the 1950s. Since then, much of our land has been seized for resource development. Until recently, we were not consulted about this seizure of our land, nor were we compensated for the resource development projects’ destructive impacts on Nitassinan and our way of life.

14. The development of the Churchill Falls Hydroelectric project was one of the most significant, destructive resource development projects to impact Nitassinan.

Impacts of Churchill Falls Generating Station

15. Mista-Shipu, known in English as the Churchill River, is the longest river in Labrador and was an important travel route for the Innu until the construction of the Churchill Falls Generating Station (“CFGS”). It is one of the travel routes that led to Meshikamau.

16. Mista-Shipu had a significant waterfall just past Meshikamau called Patshetshuna. It is known in English as Churchill Falls.

17. When the resource developers turned their attention to the riches of Nitassinan, they looked at these Falls and saw them as a potential source of power generation. They gave no consideration to whether the development of this power generation would impact the Innu.

18. The Churchill Falls (Labrador) Co. (“CF(L) Co.”) began constructing CFGS in 1967. Hydro-Québec became, and remains, one of two shareholders of CF(L) Co.

19. In 1971, flooding of interconnected waterways above Patshetshuna created a reservoir to power CFGS. This flooding included Meshikamau and surrounding ecozones (highlands, bogs, islands, forest, tundra), and it turned these lakes and lands into one large water body, known as the Smallwood Reservoir.

20. The Innu were not consulted about this flooding, and we certainly did not consent to it. We were not even told when the flooding would begin, or the degree to which the water would rise. One of our elders, Pinute Ashini, has said that they expected the water level rise at most to be like that caused by a beaver damming a river, and did not expect anything of the scale or nature of the flooding that CFGS has caused. Attached as Exhibit D are pages excerpted from a report prepared by Peter Armitage in 2011 regarding a different hydroelectric project, which briefly outlines impacts of CFGS at pages 23-24.

21. The flooding was a terrible surprise to our people who found our land flooded, our trapping and gathering in our traditional lands wiped out, our gear lost, and the graves of our ancestors under water. Attached as Exhibit E is an inset of a map showing our travel routes and campsites, on which a map of the flooding caused by CFGS was overlaid. Attached as Exhibit F is an image of a small portion of the destruction caused by the flooding.

22. The impact of CFGS on Nitassinan is immense. Countless lakes were flooded to create the Smallwood Reservoir. The Reservoir covers an area of approximately 2,566 square miles – larger than the state of Delaware. The catchment area of the CFGS is about the size of the State of Maine. The generating capacity of CFGS is almost three times that of the Hoover Dam. A map of the flooding drawn from Exhibit C is attached as Exhibit G.

23. The flooding destroyed the Meshikamau area’s waters and lands. It destroyed our use of the area, and it also destroyed the habitats of animals living there. Our hunting and trapping lands were inundated. Innu whose families had hunted in the region for

generations lost their canoes, traps, Atiku-hide scrapers, and other tools that they stored in caches along the river’s edges. Beaver in the headwater ponds froze to death because of reduced water levels. Salmon spawning grounds were destroyed. Fish living in the Reservoir have been poisoned with methylmercury. Atiku calving grounds and waterfowl nesting areas were drowned.

24. We also lost the bones of our ancestors. Their burial grounds are now underwater. Attached as Exhibit H are photos that show our burials disturbed and destroyed by the flooding.

25. It would be difficult to overstate the profound anger, dismay and sadness that the Innu feel about the flooding of the Meshikamau area, and the destruction CFGS has caused to the plants and animals with whom we shared the lands and waters.

Churchill Falls Generating Station, Hydro-Québec, and the New England Clean Energy Connect

26. Even though Hydro-Québec is only a minority shareholder in CF(L) Co., it is entitled to “almost all the output” of CFGS, by virtue of a power contract that will remain in place at least until 2041. Hydro-Quebec’s annual report lists CFGS as part of its generation capacity. Attached as Exhibit I is Hydro-Québec’s 2019 Annual Report, and the information I am citing can be found at pages 44, 93, 98, and 115.

27. Hydro-Québec’s 2019 Annual Report states that its net electricity sales is 208.3 TWh, and that its exports amount to 33.7 TWh. This information can be found on page 2 of Exhibit I.

28. We understand that between 1969 and 2016, Hydro-Québec was contractually entitled to 31.5 TWh of energy from CFGS. The amount of energy it is entitled to since 2016 is not publicly available but it is likely to be a similar amount. This information can be found in an excerpt of a 2019 Quebec Court of Appeal court case which I attach as Exhibit J. The information is in note 53 at the end of the decision.

29. CFGS’s generated energy is equal to about one-sixth of Hydro-Québec’s total generated energy, and almost equal to the entirety of the amount that Hydro-Québec exports.

30. In 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada, the highest court in Canada, described Hydro- Québec’s contractual relationship with CFGS, first signed in 1969, as follows: “Nearly 50 years after the Contract was signed, there have been changes in the electricity market whose effect is that the purchase price for electricity set in the Contract is well below market prices. As a result, Hydro‑Québec sells electricity to third parties at current prices while continuing to pay CFLCo the price agreed on in the Contract in 1969. This generates substantial profits for Hydro‑Québec.” Attached as Exhibit K is an excerpt from the judgement of the Supreme Court of Canada where this statement is found.

31. The energy that would be passing through Maine and flowing to Massachusetts consumers as a result of the NECEC would come from waters that continue to wash away the bones of our ancestors, destroy our lands and the subsistence resources upon which we depend for our cultural identity and our livelihoods – our very way of life.

Our attempts to seek redress

32. In 2011, Nalcor Energy (the provincial utility for the Province of Newfoundland and Labador), and the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador entered into the Upper Churchill Redress Agreement with our people. They acknowledged the profound impact that the CFGS has had on our people and agreed to make reparations for the damage it has caused us. Nalcor Energy is, along with Hydro-Québec, a co-owner of CFGS. Attached as Exhibits L and M are press releases from the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador regarding the signing of the Upper Churchill Redress Agreement, and the ratification of this Agreement by our people.

33. Nalcor’s conduct, when they finally agreed that they needed to make these reparations as they realized they needed to fundamentally change their relationship with the Innu Nation in Labador, is very different from the irresponsible attitude we have experienced from Hydro-Québec. Over the years, the Innu of Labrador have made repeated attempts to meet with Hydro-Québec to discuss the impacts of CFGS on our people. Hydro-Québec has only ignored us and treated us with disrespect. We have been extremely disappointed in Hydro-Québec’s refusal to take responsibility for what they have done to our people and our land.

34. I understand that in a similar way to how Hydro-Québec built CFGS, Hydro-Québec is also working through a separate company to try to build the NECEC. As the people of Maine consider whether to work with NECEC project, I can only hope that they experience better treatment at the hands of Hydro-Québec than we have so far.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

Dated: April 9, 2020 Gregory Rich, Grand Chief

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

The AFNQL to the New Trudeau Government: “Now is the Time to Deliver”

Wendake, November 20, 2019 - The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) acknowledges the new Trudeau government's taking office and asks that it gets to work today with First Nations, who are tired of broken promises and commitments.

“It is now time to deliver,” says Ghislain Picard, Chief of the AFNQL. “The situation of First Nations children and families, the safety of women and girls in our Nations, the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the essential reconciliation with First Nations, all of these and many other issues are at stake, that is what the Trudeau government must now deliver,” says Chief Ghislain Picard.

The AFNQL points out that the First Nations actively engaged with the Trudeau government during its first mandate, and that the results to date have not been up to the mark. The AFNQL is ready to maintain its collaboration with the two ministers responsible for Indigenous Affairs, both of whom have a good knowledge of the issues.

“No need to start from scratch and doing what has already been done. Now it is time to act. For a minority government, which is facing a particularly retrograde Conservative opposition on the environment and the recognition of Aboriginal rights, the challenge is considerable, and the AFNQL recognizes it. For our part, we intend to increase the pressure on all parliamentarians, to hold them accountable for their responsibilities to First Nations. I insist once again: no more false hopes, no more broken promises. Now is the time to deliver,” concludes Chief Picard.

About the AFNQL

The Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador is the political organization regrouping 43 Chiefs of the First Nations in Quebec and Labrador. Follow us on Twitter @APNQL.

- 30 - Source: Mélanie Vincent, [email protected]

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Monday, August 2, 2010 BY EMAIL: [email protected] Dr. Jerry Pell Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue SW Washington, DC 20585, USA

Re: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and to Conduct Public Scoping Meetings - Champlain Hudson Power Express, Inc. - Submissions of the Uashaunnuat, Innu of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam

Dear Sir, This has reference to the intention of the Department of Energy (DOE) to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to assess the potential environmental impacts from its proposed Federal action of granting a Presidential permit to Champlain Hudson Power Express, Inc. to construct, operate, maintain, and connect a new electric transmission line across the U.S. - Canada border in northeastern New York State. The Uashaunnuat, Innu of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam, submit the following statements for your consideration in determining the appropriate scope of the EIS and to assist you in identifying significant environmental, socio-economic and cultural issues. The Uashaunnuat, the Innu of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam, who are comprised of traditional Innu families, are a First Nation whose traditional lands are located in the North Shore region of Quebec as well as in Labrador, Canada. The Uashaunnuat assert Aboriginal title, Aboriginal rights and treaty rights in their traditional lands located in Quebec and in Labrador. Their firm position is that any use or occupation of their traditional lands without their consent is unconstitutional and illegal and that all developments, past, present or future, in or regarding these lands or the natural resources thereof cannot proceed without their consent. Dr. Jerry Pell August 2, 2010 Page 2

The Uashaunnuat affirm that the existing or proposed production and transportation of energy in or across their traditional lands from hydroelectric complexes such as the proposed La Romaine Project, the Upper Churchill Project and the proposed Lower Churchill Project are illegal and that the Governments of Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada, Nalcor Energy and Hydro-Quebec have flagrantly breached and continue to flagrantly breach the rights of the Uashaunnuat in respect to those projects (the “Hydroelectric Projects").

The Uashaunnuat state that their consent must be obtained for the Hydroelectric Projects (including the La Romaine Project and the Lower Churchill Project) and was required for all projects of the past located within their traditional lands, but was never sought or obtained. The position of the Uashaunnuat with respect to the Hydroelectric Projects has been made public through, among others, various judicial proceedings at the Federal Court of Canada and at the Superior Court of Quebec, as well as proceedings before the Public Utilities Board of Newfoundland and Labrador. The outcome of these judicial proceedings is still pending. The Uashaunnuat have also asserted, in the context of the La Romaine Project and the Lower Churchill Project, that the division of the environmental assessment process into hydroelectric power stations and reservoirs on the one hand and the transmission lines on the other hand is in itself incoherent, arbitrary, illegal and disrespectful of the principles of a sound environmental assessment.

More particularly, the position of the Uashaunnuat is that these projects each constitute a single project comprised of several inseparable components, including the power stations, the reservoirs and the related works, such as roads, transformers and transmission lines. Remarkably, for the purpose of the environmental impact assessment process of these projects, the transmission lines and transformers were totally severed from the remainder of the project.

Considering that the proposed Champlain Hudson Power Express Transmission Line Project ("the Project") may enable or facilitate the construction, operation, maintenance and connection of the Hydroelectric Projects because it may use electricity produced by the Hydroelectric Projects, the proposed Project will have negative and irreparable impacts beyond those identified within the State of New York.

Far from being green energy, the Hydroelectric Projects have significantly and negatively impacted and will significantly and negatively impact the traditional way of life of the Uashaunnuat, their traditional lands, the flora and the fauna and all the natural resources of the territory. These projects also have affected and will affect the intimate relationship between the Uashaunnuat, their traditional lands and the natural resources thereof and would prevent the Uashaunnuat from fulfilling their obligations as the caretakers of their traditional lands which are at the heart of their identity.

The negative impacts on the Uashaunnuat of the Hydroelectric Projects include, but are not limited to: Dr. Jerry Pell August 2, 2010 Page 3

• net loss of land due to flooding and deforestation and reduced ability of the Uashaunnuat to use the affected lands; loss of significant hunting and trapping territories and fishing sites; destruction of flora and fauna and their habitat; alteration of navigable waters; accumulation of mercury; reduced quality of water and meat; loss of lands used for transmission of traditional knowledge; greater access, for non-Aboriginal persons, to the traditional lands of the Uashaunnuat and thus greater use of and stress on the traditional lands by non Aboriginal persons; the noise and electromagnetic field of the transmission lines; spreading of chemicals along the transmission lines; disturbance of the migration of certain species of fauna (such as the caribou); destruction of parts of certain nature reserves (such as the ecological reserve of the Matamec). There is no doubt that the Uashaunnuat carry out their traditional activities, including hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering, within their traditional lands which are or will be affected by the Hydroelectric Projects and that the negative impacts of these Hydroelectric Projects on the traditional way of the life of the Uashaunnuat must constitute an essential part of any environmental assessment of the Project. The elements which relate to Aboriginal rights and interests and which should be included in the Project's environmental assessment are:

The Applicant and the DOE must take into account that the Uashaunnuat claim Aboriginal title over a significant part of northern Quebec and Labrador, at a collective level. The Uashaunnuat constitute a distinct society which has occupied, in an exclusive manner, this part of Quebec and Labrador before assertion of European sovereignty over these lands, continued to occupy these lands and occupy them still, according to a distinctive way of life and customs, practices and traditions which are a part of their distinctive culture.

The Applicant and the DOE must take into account that the exercise in northern Quebec and Labrador of the customs, practices and traditions of the Uashaunnuat and of their distinctive way of life based on hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering has effectively continued well after contact with Europeans and to this day without extinguishment or voluntary cession.

The Applicant and the DOE must take into account that any development project, including hydroelectric projects, and all associated works which relate to Uashaunnuat traditional lands and traditional territories of Uashaunnuat families require the consent of the Uashaunnuat and of the affected Uashaunnuat families. Dr. Jerry Pell August 2, 2010 Page 4

The Applicant and the DOE must take into account the negative impacts that the Hydroelectric Projects have had and will have on the traditional way of life, fundamental activities, customs, practices and traditions of the Uashaunnuat, the traditional lands and natural resources thereof and the rights and interests of the Uashaunnuat. In that regard, the Applicant and the DOE should meet with representatives of the band council Innu Takuaikan Uashat mak Mani-Utenam and with representatives of affected Innu families in order to determine with some degree of precision the negative impacts of the Project. This may include the identification of significant sites, natural resources as well as fundamental activities, customs, practices and traditions which are exercised by the Uashaunnuat in the traditional lands affected by the Hydroelectric Projects.

The Applicant and the DOE must take into account all works relating to the Hydroelectric Projects, including so-called "preliminary” works, as well as works allowing transportation of energy and access to the traditional lands.

The Applicant and the DOE must be aware of the judicial proceedings of the Uashaunnuat with respect to their traditional lands and specifically the Hydroelectric Projects. The Uashaunnuat therefore request that you consider the rights, interests and concerns of the Uashaunnuat in your environmental assessment process and in the evaluation of the impacts of the proposed Project. Furthermore, the Uashaunnuat request that there be no issuance of a Presidential permit for the Project as long as there is no consent of the Uashaunnuat to the Hydroelectric Projects: as long as there is no consent of the Uashaunnuat to the Hydroelectric Projects, the proposed Project will be inconsistent with public interest and inconsistent with principles of environmental justice and the rights of Indigenous peoples. We thank you for your consideration of the Uashaunnuat's position and remain,

Yours truly,

lance O'REILLY & ASSOCIÉS Patrycja Ochman