Hydro-Québec appoints retired judge to address unpaid bills in Indigenous communities

Hydro-Québec has appointed François Rolland, former chief justice of the Quebec Superior Court, to address the issue of unpaid electricity bills that have accumulated in certain Indigenous communities.

In September, it was reported that individuals in 15 communities owe approximately $250 million in unpaid bills, some of which have been outstanding for years or even decades.

Some residents have openly stated that they do not intend to pay their bills, arguing that Hydro-Québec should compensate them for the use and damage of their ancestral lands. A member of the Nutashkuan Innu First Nation, located about 370 kilometers east of Sept-Îles in the Côte-Nord region, compared paying a Hydro-Québec bill to lending toys to someone, only for that person to charge you in return.

In a statement released Monday, Hydro-Québec announced that Rolland would act as an “impartial and independent facilitator” to review the company’s collection practices in certain First Nation and Inuit communities and provide recommendations on how to proceed.

Rolland, who served as a justice on the Quebec Superior Court from 1996 to 2015 and as chief justice from 2004 to 2015, will also be tasked with considering the issue of outstanding bills within the broader context of economic reconciliation and the energy transition, ensuring fair treatment for all customers.

He will be supported by Geneviève Motard, a professor specializing in constitutional law and Indigenous rights at Université Laval, and Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations Québec-Labrador.

Tensions have reportedly arisen within Hydro-Québec over the unpaid bills, with some employees believing that the outstanding sums should be collected.

As part of its 2035 action plan, Hydro-Québec aims to establish a process of “economic reconciliation” with First Nation and Inuit communities.