WINNIPEG -- The Manitoba Metis Federation is appealing an environmental licence for construction of the proposed Bipole III hydro transmission line.
President David Chartrand says they have formally registered an appeal with Conservation Minister Gord Mackintosh.
Chartrand says the plan to build the 1,300-kilometre transmission line up the west side of Lake Manitoba will have a significant impact on the Metis.
He says the line will run right through the heart of Metis territory and would affect traditional cultural activities, such as hunting, gathering and trapping.
Chartrand says the federation is first appealing to the minister, but is prepared to take the matter to provincial court if necessary.
Manitoba Hydro says the project -- which is expected to cost $3.28 billion -- is needed to make its transmission system more reliable and to export more surplus power to the United States.
