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Ottawa River above Des Joachims Dam
2000
Stonecliffe, Ontario

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Was it (the Dam Construction) a "Good Thing" for the communities up stream?
The answer, like the scene itself will vary with the vantage point of the viewer. At one end of the opinion spectrum, the are words of the "Temiskawa" organization, (Lake Temiscaming / Ottawa River Waterway) as they promote the unimpeded Pleasure-Boat movement past areas where the voyageurs struggled over rugged portages.

At the other end of the opinion spectrum, in the conclusion to his 1976 study "History of The BIG GIBSON area, Renfrew County," for the Historical Planning and Research Branch of The Ministry of Culture and Recreation, Ontario, Mr Ed McKenna writes.
"The Ottawa River shoreline betwean Bissett Creek and Deux Riveres has changed radically from the time when the historical activities discussed here were taking place. As a result of the many surveys along the Ottawa to assess the feasibility of canalization, governments became aware of the enormous potential for hydro-electric development on the river. In 1950 the DesJoachims dam was constructed and the shoreline above it was flooded. This has resulted in an immeasurable loss of one of the Province's most significant historical landscapes, and historical resources spanning three centuries have been destroyed."