Power from the north : the poetics and politics of energy in Québec
In 1971, Robert Bourassa, then Premier of Quebec, launched a major hydroelectric scheme to be built 1400 km North of Montreal. Known as the "James Bay" project, the first phase included the creation of eight powerhouses, six reservoirs and the diversion of two rivers. These transformat...
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ndltd-LACETR-oai-collectionscanada.gc.ca-BVAU.2429-129412014-03-14T15:46:22Z Power from the north : the poetics and politics of energy in Québec Desbiens, Caroline Power resources -- Québec (Province) -- Political aspects James Bay Hydroelectric Project -- Political aspects Nationalism -- Québec (Province) Human geography -- Québec (Province) In 1971, Robert Bourassa, then Premier of Quebec, launched a major hydroelectric scheme to be built 1400 km North of Montreal. Known as the "James Bay" project, the first phase included the creation of eight powerhouses, six reservoirs and the diversion of two rivers. These transformations necessarily impacted the local Cree people; a territorial agreement partly compensated them but remains controversial to this day. While northern communities overwhelmingly bear the ecological cost of the project, the bulk of James Bay energy flows south to the industrial centers of Quebec, Ontario and the U.S. The assertion then that "James Bay belongs to all the Quebecois" which was meant to ease political tensions about the project begs the question, "Who are the Quebecois" and how do the Crees fit within such a community? This thesis explore that question by looking at the Quebecois cultural production of territory and its resources in the north. If James Bay was out of reach, it was never out of view. Media and political discourses reiterated key elements of a Quebecois cultural relationship to place, some of which are contained in the rural literature known as the roman de la terre. Several elements of this literature and its broader context were recontextualized in James Bay, particularly as they pertained to the will to occupy the land and develop natural resources. This was an important aspect of making James Bay - a land historically inhabited by the Crees - into a "Quebecois" national landscape. I suggest that this process was largely rooted in representations of nature that sought to bind it with nation and national identity. Thus James Bay demonstrates the close connection between identity and environmental struggles. For the Quebecois, the access to James Bay was supported by a territorial discourse that performed their own cultural past. This provoked an organized resistance from the Crees which constituted them as a modern political unit. A look at the cultural geography of the region highlights the political scales created in the accessing of resources that render their equitable and sustainable use more difficult to achieve. 2009-09-22T01:45:05Z 2009-09-22T01:45:05Z 2002 2009-09-22T01:45:05Z 2002-05 Electronic Thesis or Dissertation http://hdl.handle.net/2429/12941 eng UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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NDLTD |
language |
English |
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topic |
Power resources -- Québec (Province) -- Political aspects James Bay Hydroelectric Project -- Political aspects Nationalism -- Québec (Province) Human geography -- Québec (Province) |
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Power resources -- Québec (Province) -- Political aspects James Bay Hydroelectric Project -- Political aspects Nationalism -- Québec (Province) Human geography -- Québec (Province) Desbiens, Caroline Power from the north : the poetics and politics of energy in Québec |
description |
In 1971, Robert Bourassa, then Premier of Quebec, launched a major
hydroelectric scheme to be built 1400 km North of Montreal. Known as the
"James Bay" project, the first phase included the creation of eight
powerhouses, six reservoirs and the diversion of two rivers. These
transformations necessarily impacted the local Cree people; a territorial
agreement partly compensated them but remains controversial to this day.
While northern communities overwhelmingly bear the ecological cost of
the project, the bulk of James Bay energy flows south to the industrial
centers of Quebec, Ontario and the U.S. The assertion then that "James Bay
belongs to all the Quebecois" which was meant to ease political tensions
about the project begs the question, "Who are the Quebecois" and how do
the Crees fit within such a community?
This thesis explore that question by looking at the Quebecois cultural
production of territory and its resources in the north. If James Bay was out
of reach, it was never out of view. Media and political discourses reiterated
key elements of a Quebecois cultural relationship to place, some of which
are contained in the rural literature known as the roman de la terre.
Several elements of this literature and its broader context were
recontextualized in James Bay, particularly as they pertained to the will to
occupy the land and develop natural resources. This was an important
aspect of making James Bay - a land historically inhabited by the Crees -
into a "Quebecois" national landscape. I suggest that this process was
largely rooted in representations of nature that sought to bind it with
nation and national identity. Thus James Bay demonstrates the close
connection between identity and environmental struggles. For the
Quebecois, the access to James Bay was supported by a territorial discourse
that performed their own cultural past. This provoked an organized
resistance from the Crees which constituted them as a modern political
unit. A look at the cultural geography of the region highlights the political
scales created in the accessing of resources that render their equitable and
sustainable use more difficult to achieve. |
author |
Desbiens, Caroline |
author_facet |
Desbiens, Caroline |
author_sort |
Desbiens, Caroline |
title |
Power from the north : the poetics and politics of energy in Québec |
title_short |
Power from the north : the poetics and politics of energy in Québec |
title_full |
Power from the north : the poetics and politics of energy in Québec |
title_fullStr |
Power from the north : the poetics and politics of energy in Québec |
title_full_unstemmed |
Power from the north : the poetics and politics of energy in Québec |
title_sort |
power from the north : the poetics and politics of energy in québec |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/12941 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT desbienscaroline powerfromthenorththepoeticsandpoliticsofenergyinquebec |
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1716652618210607104 |