Le Devoir is reporting that the North Shore Innu have sent a "formal notice" to the federal government insisting upon the revocation of the fracking rights that have been awarded to Anticosti Hydrocarbons, which is run by Pétrolia. In a letter to Fisheries & Oceans Canada, Ekuanitshit Chief Jean-Charles Piétacho says that Ottawa has ignored an obligation to consult with indigenous communities before authorizing the project.
The newspaper reports that Piétacho says his Innu community had been assured back in the fall of 2016 they would be consulted before any authorization was granted for hydraulic-fracturing projects on the island. But the phone hasn't rung since then. When the project was ultimately approved late last month, Piétacho decided to contact the federal Fisheries Minister, Dominic Leblanc.
It is unclear if the federal government had a legal obligation to get permission from indigenous communities before green-lighting the proposal, but it may have needed to under the Fisheries Act, if it were determined fish populations could be impacted. And as Piétacho explained to Le Devoir, one of the community's principal concerns with the oil-drilling project is the potential ramifications that fracking and the required movement of water from the island's rivers could have on the local salmon population. Fisheries & Oceans Canada has disputed that claim, saying that the movement of water will not pose a risk to the region's salmon numbers.
That complaint could further complicate the situation for the Quebec government, as Premier Philippe Couillard's government continues to struggle in walking back an agreement made with Pétrolia in the dying days of Pauline Marois's PQ government in 2014. The outright cancellation of the Pétrolia contract would likely cost the government around $200 million in penalty claims, which opposition politicians, like independent MNA -- and federal Bloc Québécois leader -- Martine Ouellet, say they are prepared to label "gifts" to petroleum companies. Quebec also has to negotiate in tandem with investment partner Saint-Aubin, in addition to Junex and Transamerica Energy, which also hold exploration permits on the island.