Northvolt will have to wait until next Tuesday before knowing if it will be able to cut down trees on the land that will house its battery cell mega-factory. The hearing which was to examine the request for an injunction from the Quebec Environmental Law Center (CQDE) was postponed at the request of the company.
The company and Quebec, which are targeted by this approach by the organization, explained on Friday that they needed more time to become aware of the “fairly large volume” of documents filed with the Superior Court of Quebec.
In this context, Northvolt agreed on Friday to temporarily pause activities on the construction site of its battery mega-factory located in Montérégie.
The CQDE is trying to obtain a 10-day provisional injunction. The hearing was to be the scene of a debate on this question. This scenario would cause “irreparable harm” to the company, argued its lawyer, Ms.e Nathalie-Anne Béliveau, before Judge David R. Collier.
According to the organization, an injunction is necessary to determine whether the ministerial authorization granted to Northvolt to destroy wetlands was issued in accordance with the rules of the art. The CQDE doubts it.
Preparatory work began at the beginning of the week on the immense 170-hectare plot of land which straddles the municipalities of Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville. In particular, the felling of around 14,000 living and dead trees is planned. The construction site will notably affect 13 hectares of wetlands. The site is home to a nesting area for the least bittern, a bird considered a vulnerable species whose presence has been detected three times since 2016.
As recently as last March, Quebec blocked a real estate project on the land where Northvolt will be located, citing concerns for biodiversity on the site. There appears to be “double standards”, says the Council. The former owner of the place, Quartier MC2 – a consortium in which we find businessman Luc Poirier – wanted to build more than 2,400 homes near the McMasterville commuter train station.