The Magpie River, located on the North Shore (Québec), has been granted "legal personality" by the Muteshekau-shipu Alliance two years ago. The group does not intend to stop there, as it is now applying to international bodies to prevent any project to harness the river.
This "legal personality", which is supposed to confer rights to the river such as those related to its physical and biological integrity, seems however symbolic since it does not emanate from the Quebec parliament.
The Muteshekau-shipu Alliance, composed of the Innu community of Ekuanitshit, the MRC of Minganie and two protection associations, therefore wants to go further and is now calling for recognition by the ICCA (territories and areas conserved by indigenous peoples and local communities) consortium as well as for inclusion in the world register of protected areas.
And Quebec and Hydro-Quebec have not ruled out, until now, the possibility of creating a hydroelectric dam on the Magpie River. Hydro-Quebec is expected to announce its plans in the coming months.
More details are available in an article in the Radio-Canada web portal » [in French]
