CUPE is reacting to a move by Hydro-Québec to cede a 50% share in a private joint venture to the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke. The joint venture will own an electricity transmission line running from Hertel station to the State of New York. The Mohawk community will thus become a shareholder in a 58-kilometre section of transmission line, a historic first.
While CUPE welcomes efforts towards reconciliation and supports the principle of allowing the Mohawk community of Kahnawà:ke to own assets in Québec’s public transmission lines, we are firmly opposed to the format chosen in this case, that establishes a private joint-venture and not a public corporation. This type of private ownership could for example open the door to the eventual resale of the portions owned by the two parties to a multinational energy corporation.
This move could also paves the way for the continued dismantling of Hydro-Québec public ownership, as undertaken by the CAQ under François Legault, Pierre Fitzgibbon and Christine Fréchette, for instance with Bill 13, adopted in 2023 and Bill 69, adopted in 2025.
“We hope the new minister of Energy, Stéphane Paquet, will change course and stop all forms of privatization, and announce that any shares in the production and transmission of electricity will be brought back under public control. We believe the new Parti Québécois government will be sensitive to the collective emancipation model that was a legacy of René Lévesque and the Quiet Revolution. Any new partnership with a First Nation community should be undertaken with a guarantee that these assets remain publicly owned,” said Frédéric Savard, spokesperson for the CUPE-Québec Energy Sector.
“Popular sovereignty over energy is crucial, especially in the current economic and political context. The CAQ’s legacy on this is clear: they wanted to sell off public assets and allow private shareholders to profit from our resources, under various pretexts, such as a supposed green transition or reconciliation with First Nations,” according to Frédéric Savard.
