Public participation – Bonsecours substation and supply line

Regional consultation

In spring 2022, Hydro‑Québec initiated a regional consultation with elected officials and managers at the municipal, provincial and federal levels, environmental groups and economic players affected by Estrie’s electrical system upgrade. These first meetings made it possible to discuss our vision for the development of the transmission system in the region and to gather feedback and suggestions on the project.

So far, the stakeholders we’ve met with understand the need to upgrade the system in order to support the region’s current and future energy needs. The discussions focused primarily on Hydro‑Québec’s collaboration with the host community, the preservation of the landscape, human and environmental impacts and possible mitigation measures.

Concrete support for community development

Hydro‑Québec sees its projects as an opportunity to participate in the development of host communities. Accordingly, through its Integrated Enhancement Program (IEP), it makes funding available to eligible organizations to carry out initiatives that improve community life. Initiatives can involve the environment, municipal, community or recreational infrastructures, or support for tourism or regional development.

Communication

Hydro‑Québec is currently deploying various communication tools and participating in different forums in order to consult the groups affected by and interested in the project. In this regard, Hydro‑Québec organizes open houses for the general public to foster constructive discussions with citizens. Hydro‑Québec will conduct a follow‑up and pursue its discussions with the community following those activities and throughout the entire project

Communication

Hydro‑Québec is currently deploying various communication tools and participating in different forums in order to consult the groups affected by and interested in the project. In this regard, Hydro‑Québec organizes open houses for the general public to foster constructive discussions with citizens. Hydro‑Québec will conduct a follow‑up and pursue its discussions with the community following those activities and throughout the entire project

Our public participation process

Pre‑consultation

During this initial phase, we meet with the host community. Generally, we consult the MRCs, municipalities, cities, organizations involved in environmental matters, such as the UPA, and certain local economic organizations. We present our study area and ask for comments and concerns from the host community in order to begin an analysis of the possible route variants.

Information sharing is critical at this stage as it allows us to study the host environment and develop the feasible route variants that will be presented to the public during the consultation phase.

Consultation and presentation of the project

During this stage, we once again consult the stakeholders in the host community and we meet with the public to do the following:

Present the line routes under study
Present the modifications to the project design (height of the towers, width of the right‑of‑way, etc.)
To encourage cooperation with the host community, we speak to the landowners concerned about possible improvements and upcoming steps
Collect comments, concerns and questions from organizations and the public regarding route variants and questions about the substation.

Announcement of selected solution

During this last phase of our public participation process, we present the results of our analysis following our environmental studies and our consultation activities.

During this step, we do the following:

Present the selected route variant
Hold discussions with concerned landowners and community organizations in order to ensure an optimal integration of the new line in the community
Integrate the community’s opinions in our environmental assessment process in order to choose the type of tower that is best suited to the host community.