Letter: Quebec dam is off the agenda

From Mr Richard Guay

Sir: In his article " 'First Nations' fight for freedom" (7 October), Hugh Winsor wrote on the position of the Cree and Inuit leaders of Northern Quebec in the forthcoming referendum on the sovereignty of Quebec and the proposal for a new partnership with the rest of Canada.

Mr Winsor referred to the land inhabited by the 12,000 Crees of Quebec as being the "site for the proposed gigantic Grande-Baleine hydroelectric power dam which has been opposed by the Cree". The project to which he referred was abandoned some considerable time ago by the Government of Quebec. This has led to substantial easing of tensions and both parties are now engaged in talks with one another, trying to settle some of the outstanding problems between them.

Yours faithfully,

Richard Guay

Agent General

Quebec Government Office

London, SW1

13 October