Onimiki Project: two concerned organizations will hold an evening of discussions

The Friends of the Kipawa River and the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Regional Environmental Council (CREAT) will hold an evening of discussions on the Onimiki project on January 16 in Ville-Marie.

The project piloted by the MRC du Témiscamingue and three indigenous communities consists of developing two hydroelectric power stations, one in Témiscaming and the other 30 kilometers further north. A project notice was submitted to this effect by the Onimiki Renewable Energy limited partnership last July. This is a $475 million project.

The last information session for the promoters took place in March 2024 and the project implementation schedule provided for an information and consultation process in the fall which has still not taken place. Both organizations consider that the people directly concerned are very little informed about the project.

The BAPE process can be long, it can be demanding. We say to ourselves that it would be really interesting to go upstream of that, then to collect the concerns.

For example, continues Ms. Bédard, we learned this fall that residents of Point McCarthy, right next to the area where the Onimiki North factory would be located, were not even aware of this project. So we have the impression that there are ultimately very few people who are informed about the project, who know the details, what it will bring in terms of visual impact as well. So, we say to ourselves that it is interesting to bring everyone up to speed a little on the latest information that we have.

The two organizations have several concerns regarding this issue. The Friends of the Kipawa River fear, for example, the impacts on the ecosystems of the river and the Opémican national park, as vice-president Christian Bélisle explained on the show Golden mornings.

A hybrid formula

The organizers are offering a hybrid formula to accommodate as many people as possible. It will therefore be possible to participate in the meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Théâtre du Rift in Ville-Marie, on January 16, or to attend the webcast on social networks.

The two organizations also insist on the fact that the assembly is not reserved only for people who have concerns about the project, quite the contrary.

It is open to all and free. What we really want is to have very rich exchanges. All the better if there are diverging opinions, it always advances the dialogue, the discourse and the reflections. It is certain that we, our concerns, have named them. We don’t hide it, we are very concerned about the project, but it’s always interesting to have other diverging opinions.argues Bianca Bédard.