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1972 – The James Bay Project

When Quebec began to nationalize its private electricity companies in 1944, the provincial government created Hydro-Québec. By 1963, the nationalization of all private electricity companies was complete. The assertion of provincial control of hydro generation and distribution in Quebec was a prominent feature of the ‘Quiet Revolution,’ which began in the 1960s. The Premier of Quebec at that time announced that the project was a means to encourage industry and create new jobs. The James Bay hydroelectric project, in northwestern Quebec, altered the flow of rivers and transformed the surrounding area of roughly 350,000 square kilometers, approximately one-fifth the area of the province. It is the largest hydroelectric power development in Canadian history, and consists of three distinct phases.

The first phase of construction on the James Bay project began in May 1972. Hydro-Quebec began building a series of dams, dikes, reservoirs and power stations. Three major rivers, the Caniapiscau, Eastmain and Opinaca were diverted into reservoirs on La Grande Rivière, which nearly doubled their power potential. Power stations were built to harness enormous amounts of hydroelectric power. Materials for the project included 203 million cubic yards of fill, 138,000 tons of steel, 550,000 tons of cement and almost 70,000 tons of explosives. The workforce comprised around 12,000 workers. They built four powerhouses, 215 dikes and dams and a 4,800-kilometer network of 735-kilovolt transmission lines to transmit the power south to Québec and Montréal.

But starting in 1972 the Cree and Inuit of James Bay opposed the project. In 1975, they gave up their claim to certain land in northern Quebec in return for $225 million in compensation as part of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. When construction of the first phase was completed in 1985, the total cost of development neared $14 billion. With a capacity to generate 10,300 megawatts of electricity, the complex is considered critical for fuelling Quebec’s economic growth.

Construction on the second phase began in 1989, and involved redirecting the Eastmain, Laforge, and Caniapiscau rivers into La Grande Rivière. This phase of the project was largely completed when work was suspended in 1994 due to environmental concerns. Then, a 2002 agreement with the Cree cleared the way for completion of Phase 2. With the first two phases complete, the James Bay project produces approximately 15,000 megawatts of energy, more than three times the output at Niagara Falls.

The final phase of the James Bay project is referred to as James Bay 2 or the Great Whale hydroelectric project. It was to begin in March 1989, but Quebec's energy surplus at the time and public concerns over the ecological impacts, stalled construction on the Great Whale and the Nottaway–Broadback–Rupert complexes. James Bay 2 would have affected watersheds with an area the size of France, and created reservoirs the size of Lake Erie. In November 1994, a panel of federal, provincial and Aboriginal representatives ordered Hydro-Québec to rework an environmental study it had prepared for the project. The next day, the Government of Quebec announced construction would be put on hold indefinitely.

The deregulation of energy markets and a growing appetite for electricity among North American consumers and businesses may someday re-awaken interest in additional James Bay hydroelectric power. Higher world energy prices and growing concerns about using more hydrocarbon fuels are factors favouring the project. The environmental implication of flooding more large areas of northern Quebec is an argument against it. The clash of these issues may determine the feasibility of further developing the James Bay complex.

Links

James Bay Project and the Cree
Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-75-94/science_technology/james_bay/

The James Bay And Northern Quebec Agreement And The Northeastern Quebec Agreement
Source: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/info/info14_e.html

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