The Gatineau River at risk
Last week, we met with the regional manager ofAmerican RiversAndrew Fisk. His mandate: to dismantle 100 of the 450 small dams on rivers in the northeastern U.S. by 2030, with the support of the Biden administration. Meanwhile, in Quebec, a private producer is reviving the idea of building two small dams on the Gatineau River!
Have we fallen on our faces?
The project was thought to be dead and buried when, in 2002, the program to build 36 small privately-owned hydroelectric plants which would have led to the disappearance of 24 iconic waterfalls (Rivière Sainte-Anne in Quebec City and the Seven Sisters on the Rivière Rouge). More than twenty years later, the issue is back on the agenda.
The reason? The Legault government is banking on low-cost clean energy to attract major industries to develop the battery industry and produce hydrogen for European markets. So, nuclear power and run-of-river dams are being revived: the bar is open. Anything goes, and private producers are salivating in anticipation of the juicy supply contracts to come. Nothing's decided yet, but everything's on the table...
The Gatineau River, a jewel to be protected

The Gatineau is our flagship river, and for the past 25 years it has been the site of the Upper Gatineau Whitewater Festival created to protect this river.
Nature abhors a vacuum, and our rivers should be rigorously protected. The private sector is filling the gap left by the government, and wants to take over our rivers! So, here we are today, with destructive and useless power plant projects to fill the void left by the government. our real electricity needs peak, in winter, when we have to heat our homes when it's -25 degrees.
For our part, we are also going to fill this gap and continue to offer alternatives and a new way of working. vision for our energy future.
Stay by our side. We'll need your help soon

André Bélanger
General Manager of Fondation Rivières and a keen kayaker, André is an ardent defender of the Gatineau River.