(Québec) Le maire de Québec a annoncé jeudi l’ajout de plusieurs nouveaux capteurs pour mesurer la qualité de l’air en Basse-Ville. Bruno Marchand se défend de lancer une énième étude sur cette question épineuse et jure qu’il est prêt à mettre tout son poids politique dans la balance.
Publié à 12h04
« Les gens parlent de soupe [toxique] in Limoilou. We are going to see if there is a soup and what it is made of, and where we start our actions,” declared Mr. Marchand at a press conference at City Hall. “We will be brave. If it’s the incinerator, we won’t hide. And the Port of Quebec will not hide. No one in this project has the will to hide. »
Thursday’s announcement provides for collaboration between the City, the Ministry of the Environment (MELCC) and the Port of Quebec. The municipality will deploy three air quality sampling stations around the Limoilou district. The MELCC will add a monitoring station in Limoilou and the Port will share data from its two existing stations.
Currently, only one MELCC station shares air quality data in Lower Town. In a few months, there will therefore be eight.
“For citizens, this is really great news. We will be able to find out with facts, high-level sensors, public data… Never in the history of the City have we been there,” said the mayor.
The data will therefore be available to the public from this fall following a processing period, on an application or a website. The goal: to draw up the most precise diagnosis ever drawn up on the quality of the air in Lower Town of Quebec, near the activities of the waste incinerator, the White Birch plant and the Port of Quebec.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF QUEBEC
The new stations will be installed on the edge of the Limoilou district in Quebec.
Then, the mayor promises to draw the necessary conclusions. He expects the collaboration of the Port and the MELCC. “No one here wants to cover their behinds,” he said. “But if the partners decide not to collaborate, you will see that the pressure will come in by trucks,” added Mr. Marchand.
Three studies expected
The implementation of this air quality analysis network comes after the Quebec government’s decision to greatly increase the maximum standard for nickel particles in the air. This choice by the government of François Legault has significant impacts in Lower Town, because the Port transships this ore critical to the energy transition.
The Minister of the Environment defended himself from proceeding in reverse, ie raising the standard when the exact portrait of the air in Lower Town is not yet known. “Do not mix the files”, replied during the press conference Benoit Charette.
“Here, we are talking about a portrait of air quality in general. For nickel, the assessment process took place over several years. »
In addition to this unpublished analysis, two other studies on air quality in Lower Town Quebec are expected. The MELCC has promised, in the face of the discontent aroused by the increase in the nickel standard, to form an independent study group. The Air Contaminants Task Force must submit its report to the Minister no later than 1er December 2022.
The Public Health of the Capitale-Nationale is also leading the My environment, my health project, which must make recommendations to improve air quality in Lower Town.
The Leader of the Opposition at City Hall, Claude Villeneuve, hailed this “news that goes in the right direction”. “It will help improve knowledge of air quality in Limoilou. Hoping that we can identify their origin, ”noted the head of Quebec first.
But in the same breath, he wonders if this approach will lead to tangible improvements. He recalls that the Ministry of the Environment itself has admitted having difficulty identifying the sources of emissions when the nickel standard is exceeded.
“During the plenary session in January, we were told: when there are overruns, we don’t know who to give the ticket to! “recalls the chosen one.