Activist Mikaël Rioux, known in 2002 for canceling the construction of a mini-hydroelectric power plant on the Trois-Pistoles river, takes up the torch. This time he is against the construction of a bridge over the same river, planned for the extension of Highway 20 towards Rimouski.
• Also read: Extension of the 20 towards Rimouski: sacrifice of land for a highway
Last Thursday in Trois-Pistoles, the regional minister of Bas-Saint-Laurent, Maïté Blanchette-Vézina, was apostrophized as she went to a press conference by Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault.
Activist Mikaël Rioux (right) waited for Minister Maïté Blanchette-Vézina (left) to give her his opinion on the extension of Highway 20 towards Rimouski. Special community photo by Kévin Beaulé
“We will be in your hands the whole time, you know that,” said the committed environmentalist to the slightly destabilized minister.
“This project won’t be easy for the rest of you, I guarantee it. […] We will not give up like we did in the past with the dam, it is the same, this area is sacred,” he added.
Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault was in Trois-Pistoles on Thursday. She was accompanied by MPs Amélie Dionne (to her right) and Maïté Blanchette-Vézina (to her left). Special community photo by Kévin Beaulé
When Geneviève Guilbault announced the next steps for the completion of Highway 20 to Rimouski, which will be reinstated in Quebec’s infrastructure plan in 2022, she was later greeted by protesters’ slogans.
“The A20 will not pass” and “The river, the river, the river,” chanted the crowd.
A project that divides
The extension of the 20 motorway between Notre-Dame-des-Neiges and the Bic sector was promised by François Legault more than once in the last two election campaigns.
This project has long been requested and expected by the majority of Rimouski citizens.
Additionally, CAQ MP Maïté Blanchette-Vézina made it her hobbyhorse during the election campaign and was elected, ending the Parti Québécois’ rule in the riding.
In return, a group of citizens from Trois-Pistoles and the surrounding area firmly reject the extension of the section.
They claim that building a bridge would distort “their flow.”
Last February, one of the opponents, Sébastien Rioux, told the Journal that “between 15 and 20 sugar bushes” were at risk of splitting or closing on the routes proposed by Quebec’s transport ministry.
The activists are also supported by the mayor of Trois-Pistoles, Philippe Guilbert, who says no to the project.
The return of the enfant terrible
Over the years, Mikaël Rioux has built a reputation as an enfant terrible environmental activist through his actions, both flamboyant and controversial.
Mikaël Rioux in 2002 over the Trois-Pistoles river. Archive photo GILLES LEBEL/AGENCE QMI
In 2002, the man, then a young 26-year-old ecotourism guide, got stuck – with reprieve – on a zip line above the Trois Pistoles River for 40 days.
The pictures are circulating in Canada and the government will finally back down on this mini-dam project from a private developer.
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Two years later, Mikaël Rioux was still making headlines when he poured a glass of water on Hydro-Québec President André Caillé’s head during a press conference live on television. He then rejected the Suroît thermal power plant project.
He will also be at the forefront of protests against the Trans-Canada pipeline project in Cacouna in 2014. The man calls for the protection of belugas in the St. Lawrence River.
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