The City of Quebec no longer intends to navigate by sight with regard to the quality of its air. As of this fall, it promises to publicly share the data collected by the new measurement stations that the Port, the Ministry of the Environment and the Marchand administration will install, within a few weeks, in lower town.
No one knows exactly, for the moment, the level of atmospheric contamination that prevails in a district like Limoilou, where life expectancy is cut by six years, on average, compared to the upper town. The sources of this pollution are also the subject of speculation, but of no certainty based on science.
It is to dissipate this fog that the City is joining forces with the Port of Quebec, the Ministry of the Environment (MELLC) and Laval University in order to draw up a “comprehensive portrait” of the situation. These first three authorities will install new sampling stations in Limoilou, while the expertise of the university will make it possible to make a diagnosis in the light of the data collected.
The City of Quebec currently has no station to measure air quality, other than the one located near the chimneys of its incinerator. It intends to deploy three temporary surveillance tools in the lower town. The MELLC, for its part, promises to add a permanent station to the seven currently installed on the territory of the City of Quebec.
“For us, this is great news,” enthuses the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand. Never, in the history of the city, we went there. We are moving into the modern era. »
The mayor undertakes to make the data collected public in the fall. The possible culprits, ensures Mr. Marchand, will not avoid their responsibility. “If it’s the Port, if it’s the incinerator, if it’s the highway, if it’s X or Y, we’ll be able to accept that. […] No one is there to hide. »
“Why does this change everything? It is now that it will be public, underlines the mayor Bruno Marchand. If actors decide to drag their feet, at least it will be known. From then on, people will be able to judge and will be able to mobilize by saying: “you are dragging your feet because you are responsible for this contaminant”. »
The Port of Quebec, long singled out as one of the main culprits of air contamination in Limoilou, promises to share the data collected by its two sampling stations located in the neighborhood. The port authority also promises to make an additional mobile sampling station available.
“We have a collective duty to reassure citizens,” emphasizes its CEO, Mario Girard, who says he is “resolutely determined to be an exemplary corporate citizen.”
“The ministry worked backwards”
The announcement of increased monitoring of air quality in the lower town of Quebec comes a few weeks after the reduction of the standard of nickel in the air, which multiplied by five the quantity now tolerated, each day, in the province.
The decision, strongly defended by the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, had provoked an outcry in Limoilou. The mayor and the CEO of the Port had asked the Minister to suspend the application of the new standard. He had refused to give in.
“We must not mix up the files, we must not confuse the issues,” defended Minister Charette on Thursday, refusing to draw a link between the contested reduction in the standard and the announcement on Thursday of a increased monitoring of air quality.
“We know that this change in the standard will not affect the health of people in the sector or the health of people elsewhere in Quebec. National Public Health, he recalls, deemed it harmless “as recently as last week. »
The solidarity deputy for Jean-Lesage, Sol Zanetti, welcomes the increased effort to monitor air quality announced Thursday morning. He deplores, however, a greening operation orchestrated by the Ministry of the Environment.
“If Minister Charette thinks that this announcement will make the people of Limoilou and Beauport forget his increase in the nickel standard, he is wrong! reacted the elected representative of Quebec solidaire by press release. He must reconsider his decision to raise the nickel standard, period. »
The Leader of the Official Opposition at Quebec City Hall, Claude Villeneuve, also applauds the increased surveillance announced Thursday. However, he blames the Ministry of the Environment and accuses Minister Charette of having “worked backwards”.
“Today, we admit that we need to improve our knowledge,” laments the elected representative of Maizerets-Lairet. He accuses the government of having sailed blind in its decision to lighten the nickel standard. “Even when there are overruns […], we don’t know who to give the ticket to. We were not ready to increase the nickel standard and in the face of such observations, we should, if possible, go back. »