A Brief Guide to the James Bay Controversy

Concerns about man-made environmental damage with the undertaking of the James Bay Project is the focus of this booklet. Also mentioned is relocation of 7000 Cree persons and flooding of land.

Historical note:

The James Bay Project refers to the construction of a series of hydroelectric power stations on the La Grande River in northwestern Québec and the diversion of neighbouring rivers into the La Grande watershed. It is located between James Bay to the west and Labrador to the east and its waters flow from the Laurentian Plateau of the Canadian Shield. The project covers an area of the size of the State of New York and is one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world. The project has cost upwards of 20 billion US dollars to build and has an installed generating capacity of 16,000 megawatts.