The more I learn about the Northvolt battery factory project, the more I get the impression that the Legault government thinks we are three-eyed fish. These famous fish that Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon always talks about when biodiversity is discussed on the company premises.
• Also read: Northvolt is preparing to cut down nearly 9,000 trees to build its mega-factory
It forces us to swallow the first green fly that passes our nose.
Worse, he's shoving 7 billion of our money down our throats. Without economic, social and ecological assessment!
Need answers
How is it that this Swedish company needs so much public funding to be able to use our clean energy cost-effectively?
If it were a promising economic project, private investors would have to rush to the gate. So where are they?
Several different technologies are competing in the battery sector. Who tells us that Northvolts is really the most promising?
If Mr Fitzgibbon and Mr Legault were to assume their role as private investors, would they risk investing such large sums in a company that offers so few market guarantees?
As a taxpayer, I am afraid of the white elephant, even though I support electrification.
opacity
If the expected benefits of the Northvolt power plant are as extraordinary as the CAQ claims, why not show us that with a minimum of study?
A few more months would be enough for the Office of Public Hearings on the Environment (BAPE) to address the project.
This would enable a thorough analysis taking into account economic and social risks. Not just ecological.
A BAPE would enable genuine public debate, conducive to decision-making based on expert and popular opinion. We could really talk about social acceptance.
But no! A few months before announcing the “largest manufacturing investment in Quebec history,” the Legault government instead changed regulations to exempt Northvolt from a BAPE for its entire project.
Furthermore, the permits issued ignore previous advice from the Ministry of the Environment itself!
A few months earlier, he had rejected a real estate development project on the grounds of protecting one of the last biodiversity refuges along the Richelieu. A wetland that is home to numerous species of wildlife, eight of which are threatened and protected by law.
Other risks
Aside from violating the precautionary principle in this case, not requiring BAPE for such a project sets a dangerous precedent.
However, the implementation of BAPE is cited worldwide as an example of how the implementation of the recommendations is a decision-making tool that allows the realization of better economic projects.
Northvolt will not be able to benefit from this and we are all losers. Unless the situation changes…
Municipal power
The last hope would be for the municipality of Saint-Basile-le-Grand to deny Northvolt the final approval required to begin work.
In fact, the CMM has delegated the application of wetland protection regulations to municipalities.
Even though she has the power, will she have the courage to wield it?