Hydro-Québec fought to hide parts of letters from the 1960s showing what it offered to lure a French aluminum company to the province, including its internal comments about an energy deal with Newfoundland and Labrador.
In a 2024 fight in front of Quebec’s access-to-information commission, the utility claimed the correspondence could jeopardize its present-day energy negotiations with Newfoundland and Labrador about Churchill Falls. Hydro-Québec lost the battle and released the information—including to The Canadian Press last month.
The letters reveal internal strategies and discussions as Quebec officials tried to persuade Péchiney, an aluminum company, to build a smelter in Sept-Îles, Que., on the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River. At the time, the company was also considering building in the United States….