Blackbear

FROM: CANADA NEWS WIRE TELBEC WEBSITE
_http://www.cnw.ca/en/releases/archive/June2006/27/c9335.html_
(http://www.cnw.ca/en/releases/archiv.../27/c9335.html)
Attention News Editors:
The Innus of Pessamit ask reparation for the construction, without their
consent, of 13 hydro-electric dams on their ancestral land
MONTREAL, June 27 /CNW Telbec/ - Chief of Innus Council of Pessamit,

Raphael Picard, announces today he will reactivate a claim on the illegal

construction of 13 hydro-electric dams on their ancestral land (Nitassinan),

including the Manic-5 dam. The lawsuit aiming the Canadian government, the

Quebec government and Hydro-Québec asks for around 11$ billions compensation

for undue use of the Innus of Pessamit's ancestral land for the last 50 years,

and for the extraordinary prejudice sustained by the Pessamit First Nation.
The decision to do so follows the obvious governments' lack of will to

really take into account the land's title and the Innu's rights. "The Innus of

Pessamit have sustained great and irreparable prejudice with the construction

of 13 dams that disfigured the land and irreversibly changed our way of life.

With these, Québec has grown wealthy flouting our rights and ignoring our land

title. It's unacceptable", said Chief Picard at a press conference held in the

Bersimis (Pessamit's ancient name) room of the Fairmont Queen-Elizabeth Hotel

in Montreal, the very same room where the lawsuit was first presented in 1998.
In 2002, the Innus of Pessamit had accepted to suspend this case and to

give a chance to the negotiation process (Approche commune) supposed to be

leading to a treaty. But since negotiation is making no head way and has for

many years, since the governments are showing no signs of any real will to

respect the land title and the ancestral rights, the Innus of Pessamit are

compelled to reactivate the file. "It appears that nowadays the tribunals are

the only way to have justice, to have our legitimate rights on our ancestral

lands recognised, and to have the wrongs compensated fairly and reasonably"

said Chief Picard.
The reactivation of this case is only a natural and logical follow-up to

the process the Innus of Pessamit started in 2003 aiming the recognition of

their land title and rights as well as the implementation of a natural

resources' shared control system. "For hundred of years, the First Nation that

I represent has been very accommodating with governments who have taken

advantage of us and our lands. Our intent is to make things change from now

on."
The amended lawsuit will be assigned at the Québec Superior Court in the

next few weeks and the study on which is based the amount of the financial

compensation asked will be made public as the judiciary process goes its way.

For further information: Eric Cardinal, Communications advisor, (450)

638-5159, Cellulaire : (514) 258-2315, eric@cardinalcommunication.com

INNU COUNCIL OF PESSAMIT - More on this organization _
News Releases_ (http://www.cnw.ca/en/releases/orgDisplay.cgi?okey=61031)
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Blackbear

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FROM: CANADA.COM WEBSITE
_http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=ad023307-eb2e-4185-9
fcd-80e9f4b3fbb3&k=83133_
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Innu Relaunch Lawsuit Over 'Illegal' Dams

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Lynn Moore, The Montreal Gazette

Published: Tuesday, June 27, 2006

An $11-billion lawsuit pertaining to the "illegal construction" of 13
hydro-electric dams on Quebec's North Shore will be filed this summer against the
federal government, the provincial government and Hydro-Quebec, the Pessamit
Innu Council Chief said today.

The dams, which include the huge Manic 5 dam, on territory claimed by the
Innu but "have not brought anything to the community of Pessamit...and have
been disastrous for us," Chief Raphael Picard told reporters.

The current lawsuit – one of the largest aboriginal suits in Canadian
history – is a reconfiguration of a suit first filed in 1998 but set aside in the
hope that negotiations with the two levels of governments could settle outs
tanding land claims, Picard said.

The $11 billion claim for compensation is based on an economic assessment of
what the Innu, whose council is located near Baie Comeau, should have
received during construction of the dams, more than 30 years ago, up to the present
time.

The assessments were not made public. They will form part of the court case.

© The Montreal Gazette 2006

__________________
Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.

Blackbear

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FROM: CANADA.COM WEBSITE
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26e-86669c9b6b65&k=59196_
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Quebec Natives Want $11 Billion For Hydro Dams Built 50 Years Ago

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* _View Larger Image_ (javascript:void
window.open('/components/photo.aspx?url=http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/cp/national/2
0060627/n062714a.jpg&credit=', 'largephoto',
'width=500,height=500,location=no,menubar=yes,scro llbars=yes,resizable=yes'))
Innu chief Raphael Picard. (CPImages)

Canadian Press

Published: Tuesday, June 27, 2006

MONTREAL (CP) - Aboriginals in northern Quebec have relaunched a lawsuit that
now seeks $11 billion in damages for 13 hydroelectric dams built 50 years
ago on territory they claim as their own.
The Pessamit Innu originally filed the lawsuit with Quebec Superior Court in
1998 for $500 million, but agreed to put it aside four years ago to pursue n
egotiations with the Quebec government.
But Innu chief Raphael Picard says those negotiations are going nowhere.
The lawsuit claims Ottawa, Quebec and Crown corporation Hydro-Quebec failed
to respect the band's ancestral rights, or to live up to numerous treaties
signed over the years.
According to Picard, 13 Hydro-Quebec power dams are located on Innu territory
on the province's north shore.
Picard's lawsuit contends the dams where built without the band's consent,
and he calculates the $11 billion figure represents the benefits Quebec society
has enjoyed from the development his band's land. r
© The Canadian Press 2006

__________________
Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.