Innu grand chief says Churchill Falls talks with N.L. Hydro 'not enough,' concerns still sidelined

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro has begun giving "regular" updates to the Innu Nation on the progress of Churchill Falls negotiations with Hydro-Québec, but Grand Chief Simon Pokue says the concerns of his people are still being sidelined.

According to Pokue, the updates from N.L. Hydro began at the beginning of the year, a few weeks after a former grand chief told CBC/Radio-Canada that the Innu Nation was completely in the dark on the Churchill Falls talks.

"It's not enough," Pokue said Wednesday during a phone call from Sept-Îles, Que. "The province has to understand and Quebec has to understand, this is Innu land.… This has a big impact on us."

In February 2023, the premiers of Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec announced formal discussions on the future of Churchill Falls — a 5,428-megawatt plant built half a century ago on the Churchill River.

Newfoundland and Labrador hopes to reopen the deal, set to expire in 2041, so it can receive a higher price for the dam's electricity. 

Quebec, which currently buys the vast majority of the electricity produced at Churchill Falls for the bargain-basement price of 0.2 cents per kilowatt hour, is seeking to increase hydroelectric production in Labrador, either by adding to or renovating the existing Churchill Falls plant or building a new dam downstream at Gull island.

Pokue said the Innu were never consulted when Churchill Falls was built and promised history won't repeat itself. He warned the Innu Nation, which represents about 4,000 people in Sheshatshiu and Natuashish, would block any new deal reached without its consent.

Innu consent hinges on Muskrat Falls royalties

Pokue said the Innu Nation's consent depends on first solving a dispute over royalties at another hydroelectric plant on the Churchill River: Muskrat Falls. 

In 2021 the provincial and federal governments restructured the Muskrat Falls project's financing, avoiding a sudden spike to Newfoundland ratepayers' electricity bills, but at the expense of revenues promised to the Innu Nation, Pokue said.

The Innu Nation was not consulted before the rate mitigation deal was announced and argue the agreement deprives its people of about $1 billion in revenue over 50 years — money promised as a result of the New Dawn agreements that paved the way for Muskrat Falls to be built.

Earlier this month, the Innu Nation filed a lawsuit seeking to block the rate mitigation agreement, reached without consulting the Innu. It had previously suspended a similar suit in 2021 to allow talks from the provincial government.

"Enough is enough, no more talks. We'll go to the courts," Pokue said Wednesday.

"The premier has to be serious. If you want to make the relationship better … let's be serious about this."

Furey: 'We still have good relations'

On July 19, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said that despite the ongoing frustrations of the Innu Nation, "we still have good relations."

"We've had open discussions about that particular file, tried extensive mediation and [a] consultation process. I would say we're always open to talking and finding a solution outside of the courts," Furey said during a cabinet shuffle ceremony in St. John's in July.

He also revealed that N.L. Hydro CEO Jennifer Williams was having a "regular discussion" with the Innu Nation on the status of Churchill Falls negotiations with Quebec.

The Innu Nation says five meetings on Churchill Falls have occurred with N.L. Hydro since the beginning of the year. Williams and Pokue met once in person and spoke once over the phone. Three "technical meetings" also occurred between Innu Nation staff and N.L. Hydro.

The Innu Nation says while N.L. Hydro has shared information on its negotiations with Hydro-Québec, the meetings should not be seen as consultations.

Last Friday, Williams was guarded when asked about the discussions N.L. Hydro has held with the Innu Nation, noting they've "been going on for a little while now."

"We have provided some specific details on some of the discussions that we're having," she said during the Crown corporation's annual general meeting in St. John's.

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