For a third and last time, the Supreme Court definitively firm the door to the attempts by the Huronne-Wendat nation to stop the deforestation linked to a wind farm project in Bas-Saint-Laurent, on the southern bank of the river.
As it is his habit, the highest court did not give reason by announcing his refusal to hear the Hurons-Wendat appeal, but he thus confirms the rejection of their claims both by the Superior Court and by the Court of Appeal.
The Hurons-Wendat claimed to be consulted for the Pohénégamok-Picard-Saint-Antonin-Wolastokuk (PPAW I) project and that it is suspended while waiting for such consultations, alleging that all deforestation on this territory that they claim to cause irreparable damage.
This project is located on the southern shore of the river in the lands of Témiscouata at the height of Rivière-du-Loup, more than 200 kilometers from the Huronne community of Wendake which, it is located about ten kilometers north of Quebec, on the northern bank of the St. Lawrence.
The Huronne-Wendat nation, however, claims as ancestral fishing territory the whole of the South Shore, from Bécancour to Rivière-du-Loup and the interior of the land to the north of New Brunswick and in the north of Maine, as ancestral hunting territory.
Ancestral territories claimed on both sides by the two indigenous peoples. Handed over, the territorial overlap area.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Gabriel Rochette-Bériau / Native-Land.ca
Agreement with local natives
However, the project is also found directly on the territory of the Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk first nation, formerly called Les Malecites de Viger, the first nation which has been consulted and which is a partner of the Eastern Energy Alliance, which pilots the project. This first nation is based in Cacouna, but its members are spread over the surrounding territory of Témiscouata and Kamouraska.
At first instance, judge Marie Cossette of the Superior Court, whose arguments were then endorsed by the Court of Appeal and now by the Supreme Court, had not failed to reproach the Hurons-Wendat their lack of diligence.
Judge Cossette pointed out that the applicants were aware that an environmental assessment process was underway, but participated in any of the public consultations between July and September 2023 and also shunned the public hearings of June and July 2024 before the Office of Public Hearings on the Environment (BAPE).
In addition, she wrote in her decision of February 26, the proof demonstrates that the territory concerned by the project is the subject of activities of forest cuts which led to the deforestation of more than 3000 hectares in 10 years, without the plaintiff manifesting himself at any time with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests. It is therefore surprising that the plaintiff claimed irreparable damage when it has not taken action to prevent its appearance over time or at least, minimally, from the moment the project has become more concrete.
The behavior of the plaintiff in the past and within the framework of the project is not compatible with an alleged allegation that it will undergo irreparable damage if the reproductive suspended
she had then decided.
Losses of $ 217 million
On the other hand, she said, The court cannot rule out the fact that the project aims to respond to an energy demand that continues to grow. Any delay will have a domino effect which will be detrimental for the public interest.
The stakeholder, made up of various partners, would thus be exposed to costs, losses and possible complaints of the order of $ 217.5 million and it is the very viability of the project that is compromised. Local communities would also be impacted in terms of income loss and other socio-economic benefits of the project, such as losses.
On March 5, judge Frédérick Bachand of the Court of Appeal gave his colleague entirely and refused the Hurons-Wendat the permission to appeal.