The Battle of Rabaska - Chronicle of an Environmental Conflict

Ce documentaire relate la bataille de citoyens contre un projet de terminal méthanier dans leur environnement immédiat. Engagé et pertinent, il évalue le poids de la mobilisation citoyenne face à des lobbies puissants comme ceux du gaz et nous invite à rester vigilants face aux enjeux énergétiques et environnementaux qui attendent le Québec dans les prochaines années.

In the 1930s, in the throes of the Great Depression, the government relocated more than 80,000 citizens to found a new settlement in the virgin forests of Quebec's Abitibi region. After enduring backbreaking work to clear the land, however, many left, seeking a better life in the city or as labourers for the large corporations that had come to exploit the North's valuable resources. The Lalancette family, however, have persisted in forging their future on the land from one generation to the next, earning their keep from farming, and defying the constraints of globalization and the mining and forestry companies that control the area. Revisiting the heritage of Quebec filmmakers who documented Abitibi, following in the footsteps of Pierre Perrault, among others, this documentary traces a defining chapter of Quebec history and raises fundamental questions about regional development.

The future of the world is perhaps being played out in an elementary school in Quebec, where a teacher is implementing a new teaching method (Action Research) aimed at preparing children to take up environmental challenges. During a very special school year, the students of Dominique Leduc's grade six class are learning to identify, rigorously analyze and resolve a problem that exists in their world. They are also learning about the uncertainty faced by those who want to change things. A unique and invaluable witness to this experimental educational project, the documentary Hope Builders demonstrates how this teaching method is important in developing critical intelligence in students, but it also underlines the crucial role of the teacher. Director emeritus Fernand Dansereau reminds us therefore that we must still look to the human instinct to find reasons to hope.