Hydro-Quebec Agrees to Return Lands

06/27/2016

The Mohawk Council of Kahnaw�:ke (MCK) would like to advise Kahnawa�kehr�:non that Hydro Qu�bec has agreed today to return certain lands that are no longer being used as a right-of-way for the purposes of transmitting electricity.

As Portfolio Chief on the Hydro Working Group, Rats�nhaienhs Kenneth McComber oversaw the negotiations for the return of the land. More specifically, Hydro Qu�bec has agreed to renounce any interests it may still hold in Hydro Line 3 to secure the de-registration of the right-of-way for the line from the federal Indian Land Registry System � which already benefits from reserve status � and secure the return of land underlying Hydro Line 4 via the Additions to Reserve process.

�We�ve been working on getting this done for several years,� said Rats�nhaienhs McComber. �While the process to use our land back in the 1930�s was fairly simple, having it formally returned is a far more complicated matter. But we�re very pleased that the lands in question will be 100% back in the community�s possession.�

Hydro Lines 3 and 4 are no longer in use and have since been dismantled; however, the right-of-way was retained by Hydro Qu�bec. The return of these lands to Kahnaw�:ke will finally and firmly rectify the issue. It should be noted that the Additions to Reserve process is not particularly quick � the formal return could take an additional five years to complete.

�I�m happy to say that our efforts are starting to see results,� McComber concluded. �There�s more to do, but today is a good day.�