This document provides an overview of Quebec's Plan Nord, a major economic development initiative for the northern region of the province. The key points are: 1) Plan Nord encompasses 1.2 million square kilometers north of the 49th parallel, accounting for 72% of Quebec's land mass but only 2% of its population. 2) Quebec has extensive experience

1. A unique opportunity:
Quebec’s Plan Nord
Presented by: Pierre Lortie, Senior Business Advisor
Michel Brunet, Chair
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2. Plan Nord: Overview
British‐Columbia North of Quebec /
Plan Nord
• Encompasses all of Quebec’s territory north of the 49th parallel:
– 1.2 million km2
– 72% of Quebec’s geographic area
• The Plan Nord area accounts for less than 2% of Quebec’s total population;
– 120,000 people including 33,000 Aboriginal peoples
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3. Plan Nord: Overview
• Quebec’s private and public sectors have an extensive
experience of working in the North with world class
achievements to prove it:
– Manic Hydroelectric complex;
– Baie James Hydroelectric complex;
– Raglan Mine;
– Bloom Lake Iron Mine
• Since 2006, private investments in Northern Quebec have
grown at 15.9% per annum, mainly as a result of investments
made in the mining sector
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4. Manic Hydroelectric Complex
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5. Baie James Hydroelectric Complex
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6. Raglan Mine
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7. Bloom Lake Iron Mine
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8. Energy
• The Plan Nord territory is an enormous storehouse for hydroelectric power
• Hydro‐Quebec plans to invest in excess of 25 billion dollars during the 2006‐
2015 period
• Current production in Plan Nord 30,000MW 70% of Quebec’s
Territory available capacity
• Hydroelectric projects (La 3,000MW North Shore Area
Romaine; Eastmain‐Sarcelle‐
Rupert and Petit Mecatina)
• Other sources of renewable 500MW Projects not linked to
energy the grid to satisfy
specific needs in the
region
• Additional production of Approx. 3,000MW Projects to meet
hydroelectric power industrial and mining
requirements and
export potential
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9. Forestry
• Over 200,000 km2 of forests
• Logging in the Plan Nord area produces, on an annual basis,
11.7 million m3 of wood, mostly softwood species, which
accounts for more than 53% of Quebec’s total forestry output
• The potential of the boreal forest in the Plan Nord area is
important and capable of sustaining further harvesting under
modern forest management
• Significant financial support is available from Investment
Quebec for resource processing projects, engineered wood
products, “green” chemistry and bio‐energy
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10. Mining
• Investments in mineral exploration and development of mines
has grown rapidly in the last five years
• Approximately 50% of these investments were made in the
Plan Nord territory
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11. Mining
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12. Mining
• Exploration and deposit appraisal expenditures (2010 $)
Per Mineral Per type of company
Per location of head office
Source: Institut de la Statistique
du Québec
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13. Mining
• SIGEOM is a remarkably effective source of geological
information accessible to mining exploration and operating
companies
• SIGEOM database comprises:
– All the data from the exploration work conducted by the mining
industry and the Government agencies since the late 1960s
– The geoscientific data is mainly from the fields of geology, geochemistry
and geophysics
• SIGEOM uses internet technology to record, publish and
disseminate the information
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14. Mining
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15. Plan Nord Implementation Framework
Société du Plan Nord (SPN)
• A state‐owned corporation responsible for:
– Overseeing the development of infrastructure projects
– Inter‐governmental coordination (i.e. Hydro‐Quebec, etc.)
– Negotiation of financing agreements for the construction and
maintenance of infrastructures
Fonds du Plan Nord
• A special purpose fund created to finance the projects
administered by the SPN
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16. Plan Nord Implementation Framework
• Investissement Québec
– Provides financial support and guarantees to companies established in
Quebec
– Commitment of $500M to acquire minority equity participations in
mining projects
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17. Plan Nord Implementation Framework
Funding
• The Plan Nord will be funded through four channels:
– Tax revenues from economic development initiatives
– Direct and indirect benefits from public infrastructure projects
– Hydro‐Quebec
– Contribution by private sector partners to fund infrastructure built
primarily to serve private development projects
• Significant governmental commitment to transportation,
communication and social/housing infrastructure: $2.1B during
the 2011‐2016 period
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18. Infrastructures
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19. Infrastructures
• Although, the Plan Nord territory is characterized by a lack of
overland roads, access to major markets is available through
existing key strategic infrastructures:
– Sept‐Îles deepwater port: Third largest bulk cargo port in Canada: A
gateway to Europe and Asia.
• Current expansion projects include:
– Route 167 – to reach the Otish Mountains region
– Route 138 – to link Natashquan to Blanc‐Sablon
– Route 389 – rebuilding the road betwen Fermont and Baie Comeau
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20. Infrastructures
• Several feasibility studies are underway:
– Deepwater port in Whapmagoostui‐Kuujjuarapik (James Bay)
– Road or rail to link Kuujjuak to current network
– Road between Radisson and the new Whapmagoostui‐Kuujjuarapik port in
James Bay
• The integration of different modes of transportation into a strategic
coherent network is essential to the development of the area
– The government will emphasize public investments that contribute the most to
the development of an integrated transportation network in order to facilitate
the development of projects with the potential for a structural impact on the
area
– Private partners will be required to participate in the financing of
infrastructures that are built for the benefit of a project
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21. Environmental Assessment Procedures
Map of Territory Division
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22. Environmental Assessment Procedures
• Under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement
(JBNQA), several advisory comittees and bodies responsible for
environnemental assessments have been created:
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23. Environmental Assessment Procedures
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24. Relationship with Aboriginal Peoples
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25. Relationship with Aboriginal Peoples
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26. Our team stands ready to support you
• The combined resources of FMC in Vancouver and Montreal
offers a seamless team of professionals with substantial
expertise in all areas related to the development of projects in
the Plan Nord Area
‐Mining ‐ Aboriginal Rights
‐Infrastructure ‐ Construction and Procurement
‐Renewable Energy ‐ Securities Law
‐Forestry ‐ Infrastructure, Energy and Project Financing
• Through its professionals and business advisors FMC can make
its clients benefit from its extensive network of key actors in
the development of the Plan Nord
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27. About FMC
• FMC has a team of more than 500 lawyers, with offices in Montréal, Ottawa,
Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. Our national network allows us to
strategically diversify our expertise across Canada.
• After 170 years, FMC continues to pioneer innovative and intelligent legal solutions
to business challenges.
• FMC has a well‐earned reputation for consistently delivering the highest quality legal
services and counsel to our clients. As a result our firm and our lawyers continue to
receive exceptional rankings and recognition by many respected domestic and
international publications.
• Our experience and expertise continues to earn us a reputation as trusted counsel to
clients in every type of commercial transaction. We represent private and public
clients of all sizes, from startups to industry icons, in all sectors of the economy.
• Outside of Canadian borders, FMC is an effective resource for our clients seeking
Canadian legal advice who operate any type of cross‐border business.
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28. SCHEDULE A
• Map showing Category I and II lands of the James Bay Crees
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29. SCHEDULE A
• Map showing Category I and II of the Nunavik Inuit
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30. SCHEDULE A
• Map showing the territory claimed by 4 Innu First Nations as set out in an
Agreement‐in‐Principle of General Nature with Canada and Quebec
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31. SCHEDULE B
• Environmental Assessment Procedure in JBNQA Territory (North of the 55th
Parallel)
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32. SCHEDULE B
• Environmental Assessment Procedure in JBNQA Territory (North of the 55th
Parallel)
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33. Michel Brunet, Chair
michel.brunet@fmc‐law.com
Pierre Lortie, Senior Business Advisor
pierre.lortie@fmc‐law.com