国产诱惑福利

This is Eeyou Istchee in northern Quebec, the traditional land of the James Bay Cree, with a surface area equivalent to two-thirds of France. The 65-year-old Cree hunter and trapper knows the land well and has agreed to take a visitor to see sites where lithium mines are under construction.

Inside the pickup truck鈥檚 cab lie two rifles, one for small game and one for big game.

If he were to encounter a moose, Jolly would shoot it and share the meat with his community members, in keeping with tradition. He explains that in the fall, in the Eeyou Istchee, every family has moose meat in their freezer. Hunting is a source of food but it also helps maintain the cultural and spiritual values of the Cree Nation.

His parents and grandparents sold furs to the Hudson鈥檚 Bay Company, and he sells them to a company in North Bay, Ont., but he fears that this way of life, which many Cree still depend on, will be disrupted by the rush for the new 鈥渨hite gold鈥� 鈥� lithium.

Companies planning to develop mines in the region believe it contains some of the world鈥檚 largest deposits of spodumene, a lithium-rich mineral.

鈥淭here are more and more mining claims. I see more and more people from the south exploring and drilling on traditional hunting areas, and soon, many roads will be built for lithium mines,鈥� Jolly says.

In order to develop mines for lithium and other critical minerals needed for the electrification of transportation, the Grand Council of the Crees and the Quebec government are planning to build hundreds of kilometres of new roads and power lines, a railroad, and a deepwater port in the Eeyou Istchee.

Jolly鈥檚 truck stops at kilometre 58 on the EM-1 road on the territory of the Cree community of Eastmain, north of Nemaska.

This is where Critical Elements Corp. plans to empty two lakes after harvesting the fish and donating them to the community. This will allow the development of an open pit lithium and tantalum mine that could produce about 4,500 tonnes of ore per day for 17 years.

The mine will be built directly on the traditional hunting grounds of Ernie Moses, the tallyman or supervisor for the local trapline.

鈥淚鈥檓 sad, but there鈥檚 not much I can do about this project,鈥� Moses says in an interview near one of the lakes that will be drained.

For several generations, his family has trapped beavers in the lake. The area is home to an abundance of game, fish, and bird species at risk, according to the federal government鈥檚 environmental assessment.

Critical Elements Corp., says that in order to extract ore from the ground in this region, which holds 鈥渙ne of the highest purity spodumene deposits in the world," it will be necessary to destroy wetlands and cut down a significant number of trees.

鈥淲hat will be left of this land in 20 years?鈥� wonders Moses, adding that when he looks at the lake in front of him, he sees 鈥渂eavers, but the mine sees dollar signs.鈥�

The trapper made an agreement with the promoter to help him inventory the beavers on the territory so they can be removed before the lake is eliminated, and either relocated or killed for their pelts.

The Eeyou Istchee is divided into 300 family traplines, each large enough to support an extended family. Every one of these traditional traplines is under the responsibility of a tallyman like Moses, who on this day has brought along two of his daughters and his son-in-law to teach them.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to pass on this traditional way of life; when I walk on this land, I take the place of my ancestors, they know I鈥檓 here," he said. "Whenever I鈥檓 on my trapline, I think about them, I鈥檓 filling in for them, and I want this to continue after me.鈥�

Mining exploration projects for various types of metal have more than doubled in the last 15 years in the Eeyou Istchee, going from 174 in 2004 to nearly 400 in 2021. A few dozen kilometres down the road from the soon-to-disappear lakes lies the future site of the Nemaska Lithium mine, in which the Quebec government has invested tens of millions of dollars.

Nemaska Lithium plans to blast the spodumene rocks that contain the precious metal, and to do so, it too will have to eliminate a small lake and a creek, in addition to altering several bodies of water, according to a company progress report.

The mining company estimates there will be between 3,770 and 5,500 square metres of habitat loss for several fish species, but a report from the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada concludes the 鈥渁nticipated negative residual effects on fish and fish habitat鈥� are much greater 鈥� 54,600 square metres of fish habitat.

Louis-Martin Leclerc, a spokesman for the mine, said Nemaska Lithium is working on updating a compensation plan for the loss of fish habitat.

According to the company, 10 species of mammals considered threatened, vulnerable or at risk, including the wolverine and the woodland caribou, can be found in the project鈥檚 study area. Nemaska Lithium recognizes that a vast number of activities, during both the construction and operation phases of the mine, will impact wildlife.

However, Leclerc adds that there is no compensation plan for the loss of these mammals鈥� habitat because, according to its inventories, none of them have been observed on the actual site of the mine.

One of Jolly's biggest concerns is that a chemical spill or mine tailings will contaminate other bodies of water. The mine site is located in the watershed of the Rupert River, one of the largest rivers in Quebec, which has always been an important source of food for the Cree.

鈥淚t would be catastrophic,鈥� the trapper says with a sigh, adding that lithium mining is dividing his community.

Beno卯t Plante, a water quality expert, led a research project on the site of the future Nemaska mine.

"Zero risk does not exist," said Plante, a professor at the Universit茅 du Qu茅bec en Abitibi-T茅miscamingue. "There are risks of dust, physical stability and water contamination, but we have some of the best legislation, which can minimize these risks and make sure they are acceptable."

Both the Nemaska Lithium and Critical Elements projects have received approval from federal and provincial authorities as well as Cree band councils in the region.

In Eastmain, band Chief Kenneth Cheezo supports the mining development.

"This is new for us, it鈥檚 the first time that a mine will open on this territory," he said in an interview.

"The company has come into the community, into our schools, to talk to young people about the jobs that will be created, and we鈥檙e not just talking about low-level employees; there are job opportunities in engineering, human resources, and several management positions."

The high school graduation rate has increased recently in Eastmain, and he believes this may be due to the eventual opening of the mine and the jobs that will be offered.

"I like to think that the success of our students over the past few years can be explained, perhaps in part, by the fact that they know, at the end of their studies, that something, a reward, may await them," he said.

The companies have committed to providing job training in the Cree communities. Furthermore, the communities will receive undisclosed amounts of financial compensation for hosting the mines.

Cheezo says he is confident, based on meetings with Critical Elements Corp. representatives, that the extraction will be done in a way that minimizes environmental impacts.

However, he admits that finding the right balance between the traditional way of life, environmental protection and economic development is a perilous exercise.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult, because the land is so sacred to us, so it鈥檚 painful to give a piece of it, even if it鈥檚 just a piece of rock.鈥�

This report by 国产诱惑福利 was first published Feb. 6, 2023.

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St茅phane Blais received the support of the Michener Foundation, which awarded him a Michener鈥揇eacon Investigative Journalism fellowship in 2022 to report on the impact of lithium extraction in northern Quebec.