(Manawan) The Atikamekw Council of Manawan strongly denounces the granting of government approval given to Nouveau Monde Graphite for an open pit mine, as the project still has no social acceptability within the community. The announcement of the granting of the approval is a step backwards in reconciliation. 

In November 2020, the Atikamekw Council of Manawan filed a consultation report with the Quebec government assessing the position of community members on the Matawinie mining project and concluding that there was no social licence to move forward with such a mining project without the community’s free, prior, and informed consent. Negotiations with Nouveau Monde Graphite have since been suspended. 

“The members of the community of Manawan have expressed themselves against the Matawinie mining project, therefore there is no social licence. We are appalled by the decision of the Government of Quebec to grant approval to Nouveau Monde Graphite without recognizing the position of the Atikamekw on the mining project. This open pit mine project is not a “green” project from our perspective. It serves instead to limit the exercise of our traditional activities and dispossess us of our ancestral territory,” said Paul-Émile Ottawa, Chief of the Atikamekw Council of Manawan. 

Information: Sipi Flamand (819) 971-1533, [email protected] 

About the Manawan Atikamekw Council 

The Manawan Atikamekw Council is made up of Chief Paul-Émile Ottawa and six (6) councillors elected in customary fashion by the Atikamekw of Manawan. It acts on behalf of all members of the community of Manawan, which is located 120 kilometres west of La Tuque and 86 kilometres north of Saint-Michel-des-Saints, on the south shore of Lake Metapeskeka.