The tribe claims that the dams, constructed in the 1950s and ‘60s by Hydro-Québec, have been ‘illegally’ built on land that the aboriginals say they own by ancestral right, and the group wants to be reprimanded for hardships their people have suffered as a result of the structures – and it calculates that Québec has benefited from them to the tune of C$11B (US$9.8B).
Dams in question include the 1528MW Manic-5, which is also a tourist attraction in the province of Québec.
A similar suit was filed by the Pessamit Innu in 1998 for C$500M (US$444.M), but was suspended four years later to allow for negotiations – which ultimately failed to appease the tribe.
Québec’s Superior Court will rule on the current lawsuit in the next few weeks.
