On the occasion of Earth Day, while the third link is still on everyone’s lips, I would like to say these few words to the St. Lawrence River, which is patiently waiting to be gutted and which no one asks for its opinion this story :
“You, the link between the heart of the Americas and the blueness that touches the Old Continent, between the present and the past, between the metropolises and the isolated villages of Quebec that you have grown by watering the territory, I think to you and thank you on this day dedicated to the Earth. Guided by your headlights in the night, in 1991, I landed on your banks singing in another language which now harmonizes very well with the melodies of your white porpoises. In the lapping of your great waters, you baptized me and accompanied my first steps as a migratory pigeon with a broken leg that came wing-dragging to make its nest on your banks. This great tenderness towards me pushed me to open wide the doors of my heart to you. So much so that today, I feel your waters flowing through my veins.
“On the 2000 km that you swallow between Lake Ontario and Cape Breton Island, I see you spreading out, splitting up, cutting islands and accelerating in the Lachine Rapids. Winding patiently towards the sea, you plunge into your river lakes which are called Saint-François, Saint-Pierre and Saint-Louis. Between Île d’Orléans and the Pointe-des-Monts lighthouse, which marks the beginning of your gulf, your waters are becoming increasingly salty, your bed is widening and your channel is becoming deeper.
You are the heart, the blood, the main artery of Quebec. The first highway in French America, the path by which explorers would advance towards the Pacific coast and the most credible repository of the history of Quebec and Canada.
“You know more than anyone this epic, both bitter and salty, where First Nations, European settlers and King’s daughters had to, in order not to sink, raise sea and world against winds and tides. If we are more than 90% of the Quebec population to live inside your watershed, it is to cling to your steps, drink your water and eat your food. Along your walking path, other great rivers wind through their territory to collect and bring you the waters, the messages and the waves to the souls of those who live very far from your flats. Of these large veins whose waters join the march of yours, there is the Ottawa River, the Saguenay River, the Saint-Maurice River, the Montmorency River, the Richelieu River, the Saint-François River and the Chaudière.
“You are the St. Lawrence, but I find it more meaningful to call you Magtogoek, which means the path that walks. Long before Jacques Cartier’s second trip, that’s how the Algonquins nicknamed you. Today, you bear the name of Saint-Laurent, whose martyrdom you share, slowly wasting away despite your great waters. You have always given without counting and unfortunately, we seem to forget that you also need love. Also, beyond the quibble over the number of tunnels and the types of transport that will be allowed in them, I think that the irreparable damage that this project will cause to your ecosystem integrity should be an integral part of the equation for our decision-makers. As many environmentalists on the planet are now demanding, rivers and rivers should be given the status of “legal person” to recognize their rights, protect what remains of their integrity and protect them from the dictates of the economic growth that sees no further than two human generations in the history of the biosphere.
As the planet moves towards the precipice, we would benefit from decreeing a moratorium on these big projects. Why not include this break in a certain duty of solidarity, a kind of environmental fund for generations?
“In my opinion, the return of these projects for new dams and tunnels under the St. is the one that slips through their fingers. Even if I believe in public transport, I think we would benefit from letting you take it easy for the rest of the world. »