Passing through Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) Éric Duhaime promised to relaunch the LNG Quebec gas project if he is elected.
On October 3, there will be a “referendum vote” in the region regarding GNL Québec’s Énergie Saguenay liquefied natural gas export project, said Mr. Duhaime. “In the Saguenay region, a vote for the PCQ will be a vote for the LNG project. And a vote for the CAQ will be a vote against the LNG project. »
“It was a monumental mistake and a flagrant lack of vision to drop the project a year ago,” said Éric Duhaime, in La Baie, in front of the water. Both Quebec and Ottawa had closed the door to GNL Quebec, following environmental assessments.
On Wednesday, Radio-Canada reported that behind the scenes, outgoing economy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon was still considering the idea of reviving GNL Quebec’s Énergie Saguenay project after the Oct. 3 election. Questioned on this subject, the chief caquist François Legault however affirmed that the door was closed.
Mr. Duhaime said he would invite Mr. Fitzgibbon to join the PCQ if the outgoing CAQ minister “didn’t have so many problems with ethics”.
The context of the energy crisis in Europe caused by the war in Ukraine is conducive to reviving the Saguenay gas project, according to Mr. Duhaime. The latter lamented the fact that “Germany is preparing to reopen coal-fired power stations to heat their world this winter”.
He also reiterated that there was social acceptability for this project in the region. Asked about the Innu communities who opposed GNL Québec during the summer of 2021, Mr. Duhaime acknowledged that it will be necessary to sit down and negotiate with them.
The leader of the PCQ continues his tour by addressing his major campaign themes. After talking about transportation on Monday and the economy on Tuesday, he will address the issue of natural resources throughout the day.
More details will follow.