Opposition mounts to proposed hydro-electric dams on the Severn.

• Author: McDougall, Douglas
• Position: Severn River, Ontario

Opposition mounts to proposed hydro-electric dams on the Severn

A Kirkland Lake company's plan to construct 12 hydro-electric dams on the Severn River is meeting with severe opposition from native Canadians who reside along the Northern Ontario waterway.

Frontier Power of Kirkland Lake applied to the Ministry of Natural Resources last year for a licence to build the dams at rapids along the river, but the licence was denied.

Lee Whitehead, the ministry's assistant lands supervisor in Sioux Lookout explained that Frontier Power's application was never accepted.

He said the ministry would not consider the proposal until Frontier Power had contacted and discussed the proposal with all affected users.

Whitehead also reported that until the company completes more substantial work with the proposal, including a market feasibility plan to identify any major obstacles to the idea, it will be impossible to tell if the project will go ahead.

"When they are finished, Frontier can return and indicate whether or not they wish to continue on an official level. They don't seem to be hurrying," said Whitehead.

Joe Morgan, president of Frontier Power, refused to comment on his company's plans.

To date, only one meeting between Frontier Power and the native communities has taken place, said Chief Frank Beardy of Muskrat Dam.

Beardy explained that, on invitation, officials with Frontier Power met with residents of the six affected communities in May but failed to convince them that the dams would be viable and that they should change their position.

Beardy said a referendum had been held to determine whether the project should receive the communities' consent. The result was negative.

Some 3,000 residents of Muskrat Dam, Keewaywin, Fort Severn, Sandy lake, Deer Lake and Bearskin voted 96 per cent in favor of declaring the river a dam-free zone, reported Beardy.

"The response was overwhelming against any dam construction on the river," said Beardy.

The communities are located along the 600-kilometre river which extends from Fort Severn on the Hudson Bay to Deer Lake, some 60 kilometers east of the Manitoba border.

According to Beardy, the development would affect some 3,500 residents on the Severn River and approximately another 3,000 who live along the river's tributaries.

The concern that the communities have over the construction of the dams, explained Beardy, is because of the threat to the environment posed by the river's development.

"We know the the...