Building Energy Sovereignty through Community-Based Projects in Nunavik

Thierry Rodon, Louise Nachet, Christophe Krolik and Tommy Palliser
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Thierry Rodon: Département de Science Politique, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Louise Nachet: Département de Science Politique, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Christophe Krolik: Faculté de Droit, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Tommy Palliser: Pituvik, Landholding Corporation of Inukjuak, Inukjuak, QC J0M 1M0, Canada

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-13

Abstract: Inuit communities in Canada are overwhelmingly dependent on expensive and polluting local diesel-powered generators for electricity production. This article seeks to understand the legal and political obstacles relative to the development of renewable energy in Nunavik, Québec’s Inuit territory. After an analysis of the legal regimes, political configurations, and policies affecting energy production in Nunavik, we present two case studies of renewable energy projects in the communities of Kuujjuaq and Inukjuak. This allows us to demonstrate that the development of alternative energy projects is not only determined by technical and economic issues but is also inseparable from the asymmetrical post-colonial power relations between Quebec institutions and the Inuit people. Our results not only illustrate the value of community ownership and leadership for sustainable northern development but also the ambiguous attitude of public authorities regarding the political and financial support for such projects.

Keywords: arctic; energy sovereignty; indigenous; Inuit; Nunavik; remote communities; renewable energy; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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