[S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news coverage may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only.]

A Manitoba first nation says it will no longer send monthly hydro payments to the provincial utility. Instead leaders at Cross Lake will keep the money as a downpayment for what they say is an enormous debt owed to them by Manitoba Hydro. The community, about six hundred kilometres north of Winnipeg, has struggled with the effects of flooding caused by a hydro megaproject 20 years ago. A lawyer for the first nation says the strategy is perfectly legal, and may set a precedent. But Hydro's president says the utility will cut them off if necessary.