Forest Alert

The Algonquin once lived in harmony with the vast territory they occupied. This balance was upset when the Europeans arrived in the 16th century. Gradually, their Aboriginal traditions were undermined and their natural resources plundered. Today, barely 9,000 Algonquin are left. They live in about 10 communities, often enduring abject poverty and human rights abuses. These Aboriginal people are suffering the threat to their very existence in silence. Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie have decided to sound the alarm before it's too late.

Striking images, rare archival footage and interviews underpin this analysis of Canadian mining companies' profits, impact on the environment and on workers' health.

After black gold, there is now blue gold. Quebec, where water is abundant and not protected by any law, is particularly attractive. Water abstraction or misuse of pesticides and agricultural fertilizers show how over-commercialization can pose a danger to this resource. At a time when the laws of international trade threaten to neutralize our own environmental rules, La loi de l’eau is a film about the necessary awareness of the dangers hanging over a resource that many believe to be inexhaustible.