Book Review:
Sean McCutcheon, Electric Rivers, Black
Rose Books, Montreal/New York, 1991, 194 pp.
As an example of enormous engineering prowess,
nothing in Canada except perhaps the more recent
Confederation Bridge rivals the James Bay
project in northern Quebec. The social,
economic, and environmental impacts of the project
have reached out from the wilds and influenced the
governments of Quebec and of Canada, and even of
the states of Vermont and New York. Cultural
wars have been waged and continue to wage over the
construction of the La Grande complex and its
indefinitely delayed successor, the Great Whale
complex. The early history of the James Bay
project, from its conception in 1970 as a campaign
promise and dream of Robert Bourassa to the
completion of the first phase of the La Grande
complex and subsequent political wrangling, is the
subject of Electric Rivers, by Sean
McCutcheon.
The James Bay hydroelectric project in Quebec
is a prime example of the impact of science and
technology on Canadian society. Sean McCutcheon's
book, Electric Rivers, tells the story of the
James Bay project. From his first words in the
introduction, McCutcheon captivates his reader,
and goes on to present a relatively impartial
history of the James Bay project. McCutcheon is
primarily interested in an examination of the
people and cultures caught up in the project and
the impacts they had on it, from the obsessed
Bourassa to the Indians and Inuit.
Taking the role of an independent investigator,
McCutcheon explores as much of the large scale
economic, environmental, and social impacts as
possible without becoming too technical in any of
the three areas. McCutcheon also personalizes the
story a bit by describing his trips into the James
Bay region and through summaries of conversations
he has had with various people affected by the
project. Since he seems to have had contact with
primarily environmentalists, scientists, and
natives, McCutcheon's narrative seems to have
something of a favorable slant toward the
environmental and sociological opposition to the
project. Perhaps this is simply because he
couldn't get interviews with people like Bourassa,
and was forced to rely on quotes and writings, the
result being that he wasn't able to represent the
really personal, human side driving the project
forward. Even with the greater personal content
from the opposition, the text is still well
balanced and doesn't really make any judgment
about the project one way or the other.
McCutcheon starts with an introduction
describing the enormity of the James Bay
Project. He writes about its physical size, its
massive cost, and about the impact it has had not
only in Quebec, but also in the northeastern
United States. He gets the reader started on a
good note, providing a hook that makes the reader
want to find out why the James Bay complex was
built, and utilizes a readable style that makes
even a history book such as this one difficult to
put down.
The author follows up his introduction by
explaining what makes the James Bay area different
from other areas at a similar latitude. He
describes the plants, animals, and peoples who
live in Northern Quebec, and the geography
that explains why Northern Quebec is so ideal for
the generation of hydroelectric power. Some
general history behind the project in the early
chapters helps the reader see the reasons behind
the project, not only in the technological sense
but also from a social perspective.
This book seems to be primarily targeted at
people who are interested in the social impacts of
large technological projects in general. The text
is really more of a case study of how mega, or
giga, as the author describes James Bay, projects
impact society and the environment. As such, the
book doesn't delve into any great detail about the
engineering of the project itself, nothing more
than short discussions about the diversion of
rivers and moving of dirt, so the book is
definitely not targeted at civil engineers
interested in how the project was built. The
author focus's first on social issues; how both
Bourassa and Levesque leveraged the project in
their election campaigns, playing on the need for
Quebecers to prove themselves to the world, how
the Indians and Inuit lost hunting grounds and
sacred sites to the rising reservoirs, and how the
Quebec economy benefitted from the project,
particularly the consulting engineering (SNC,
Lavalin, Bectel) and construction
industries. Especially interesting is the
realization that the Quebecois, desperate to prove
themselves as capable as the Anglophones, were
prepared to push aside another minority culture,
just as they were pushed aside to make way for the
tide of English in Canada's early years.
In addition to the large scale social issues,
McCutcheon also explores smaller scale issues
which would go on to impact the entire Quebec
government. In particular, the discussion of the
labor problems at the La Grande complex
construction sites showed how the expulsion of a
unionized worker could expand to a strike,
riot and destruction of a construction camp, a
commission looking at the cause of the riot, and
findings of labor patronage. The findings of the
commission made Bourassa look `weak and
corrupt', and may have played a part in his loss
of the 1976 provincial election.
The philosophical differences between
Bourassa and Levesque and the clashes between
the Indians and the Quebecois interests are
described in an engaging and human
manner. McCutcheon uses quotes and descriptions to
humanize his subjects, and in doing so brings the
story up from a dry history or technical
document and makes it readable for a more general
audience. A good example of McCutcheon's
description of the clash between the Cree Indians
and the interests of Quebec is where he tells the
story of meetings that occurred in 1974. The
author uses quotes from Einar Skinnarland, an
adviser to the Crees, to discuss the differences
between how the Quebec officials operated and how
the Cree did. While the Quebec representatives
preferred humorless, no nonsense legal
negotiations, the Crees used humor and told
stories.
The other major aspect of the James Bay project
examined in McCutcheon's book is that of
environmental impact, and how the Quebec
government and the James Bay Development
Corporation handled environmental issues. The
balancing act between the environmental
protectionism favored by the Inuit, Indians, and
others is contrasted by the need for social,
economic, and political development in
Quebec. Bourassa in particular championed the
economic aspects of the project, with the central
goal of making Quebec economically self
sufficient. The author contrasts this to the
views of Levesque, who was more interested in
making Quebec politically independent than in
making it economically self sufficient. Bourassa
tended to brush aside environmental issues, and
the author paints him as willing to sacrifice the
environment for economic gain.
The environmental aspect of the project made it
an international issue. McCutcheon describes how
the Cree and Inuit came together to bring the
environmental impact of the project to the global
stage. By taking their problems to the people of
New York and Vermont, whose state governments
are customers of Hydro-Quebec, they were able to
have environmentally concerned citizens in those
states lobby their governments to stop buying
electricity from Quebec.
Electric Rivers is a well written, well
organized overview of the James Bay
project. McCutcheon does an excellent job of
presenting his material, and the book makes for an
enjoyable read. Overall, the book is an excellent
introduction for a general audience to the James
Bay project, and makes a good case study for those
interested in the social and environmental impacts
of the modern mega-project.
Node your homework!