With environmental review still pending, Quebec minister touts benefits of natural gas project

Public hearings into the $9-billlionGNL Qubecenergy project arestill underway in Saguenaybut it is already being touted within the Quebec government as a boost tothe local economy.

Quebec's junior minister responsible for regional development, Marie-ve Proulx,saidthe construction of a natural gas liquefaction plant on the shores of the Saguenay river was "a promising project for the future of Quebec."

Proulx also said theproject hasthe overall support of "social, economic and municipalstakeholders."

That is, however, the kind of conclusion that usuallycomesonly at the release of the report by the environmental review board, known as the BAPE, which is only at the beginning of its lengthy review process.

The commission launched its public hearings on Monday in Saguenay and is set to submitits report to the environment ministerin January, 2021. The province canthen approve or reject the project, based on the BAPE's recommendations.

Proulx's comments came during question period on Wednesday, when Liberal MNARuba Ghazal asked what alternatives the ministerhad to offer workers in Saguenay other than GNL Qubec.

Proulx responded that inSaguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, "there is a very concrete will to move forward with this project."

No guarantees

That support didn't seem as clearcut during the hearings. Dozens of citizens and environmental groups voiced strong concerns over the environmental impact of the projecton the region.

The plant would be builton the western shore of the Saguenay Fjord, near La Baie, and would store and liquefy natural gas that would transitthrough aproposed pipeline, from Northern Ontario to Saguenay.

Around 200 tankers would transit through the port every year to export11 million tons of LNG to European and Asian markets.

Replacing coal production in these countries would help eliminate 28 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) per year, according to GNL Qubec.

But the actual carbon footprint of the project has been at the core of public debate since it was first presented in 2014.

During this week's hearings, Henri Jacob, president of Action Borale, asked if the company could offer any guarantees Quebec's liquid natural gas (LNG)would actually be replacing coal.

GNL Qubec responded it doesn't have the legal grounds to require its buyers to cut coal out of their production.

Countries are, however, seekingtransitional energy sources in order to reach the Paris Accord targets, according to Tony Le Verger, vice-president of development and finance.

"And there are important financial and corporate incentives behind those efforts," said Le Verger.

Unclear mandate

While the reduction of greenhouse gases on a global level is central to GNL Qubec's sales pitch, the overall discussion got off to a rocky start at the hearings.

Thefirst question asked by the public was addressed to the commission's president, Denis Bergeron.

Alice-Anne Simard, the director of the environmental group Nature Qubec, asked whether the BAPE would evaluate the total amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) that wouldbe emittedif the project goes ahead, including the fracking process in Alberta.

Bergeron responded that Simard would have to wait until the report was published to get an answer.

"You'll have to be patient because you'll have to read this in the report that will be handed over to the[environment] minister in January," Bergeron said.

Adrien Guibert-Barthez,spokersperson with the Coalition Fjord,said the commission's refusal to outline its mandate at the beginning of the process is unacceptable, and limits the scope of the questions citizens feel theycan ask.

"It doesn't make any sense at all tonotsay right now if all GHG will be evaluated," Guibert-Barthez said.

Experts unavailable

Guibert-Barthez also expected that experts would be on hand to answer some of these questions, which wasn't the case on more than one occastion

"Seeing that a valid question that should have been addressed to an expert, ended up being a long-winded response from the promoterswas very frustrating," said Guibert-Barthez.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), for example, was absent from Monday to Thursday. During these days, the themes on the agenda included maritime transportation, endangered marine species and marine safety.

In an email statement, Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirmed a spokesperson was supposed to have been present duringthe hearings, but for reasons "beyond its control, he was unable to attend the first BAPE hearings this week."

DFO will be responding in writing to all questions concerning its expertise and willparticipate by video conference for the week's last session,at 1 p.m. onFriday.

The BAPE willstart collectingbriefs and essays from citizens and local groups startingOctober 8, and will resume public hearings on October 26, in Saguenay.