The damage that has been done to Northvolt’s reputation in recent months has not shaken Saint-Basile-le-Grand’s confidence. The restructuring underway within the Swedish company reassures Mayor Yves Lessard, who nevertheless admits that the government could do a better job of explaining the turbulence that is making headlines.
Despite the sudden departure of superminister Pierre Fitzgibbon, despite the contract broken by BMW, despite the abolition of 1,600 jobs in Sweden announced Monday morning, the faith of the mayor of Grand-Basil remains intact with regard to the factory which is to be built largely on the territory of his municipality.
“I find it a little reassuring, even, to see what Northvolt is doing,” explains Yves Lessard on the phone. What is happening at the moment, the reading I am doing of it and what is also confirmed to me, is that instead of spreading ourselves too thin […] They want to focus on battery manufacturing, cathodes. And that’s ours. That we adjust now, for me, is in the order of things.”
The announcement of layoffs in Sweden does not worry her too much either. “In Sweden, they don’t just have battery manufacturing projects. There are laboratories, there is experimentation, etc. They will slow down on that side to concentrate on what they call ‘business activities.'”
Saint-Basile-le-Grand, which is to host 82% of the Northvolt plant on its territory, has no intention of slowing down despite the company’s setbacks. The mayor assures that the current situation does not slow down the redevelopment of the road network or the construction of two housing complexes intended to accommodate the workforce and their families.
Although the work on the ground is “not slowing down,” Yves Lessard concedes that the government could communicate better. “There are adjustments to be made at this level,” believes the elected official from Saint-Basile-le-Grand. “You know that the best communication for ordinary people is the one that is the most educational, the most summarized. Everyone can understand that Northvolt has decided to slow down its secondary activities a little to focus on battery production. That’s what will be produced in Saint-Basile, so these are explanations that reassure people.”
This way of highlighting the cascade of negative headlines surrounding the company would, according to Mr. Lessard, help to alleviate the fears of a population that has been wondering “for several days whether Northvolt will be able to produce batteries in Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville.”
“People hear the Quebec Liberal Party asking that the megawatts that we have reserved for Northvolt [soient redistribuées] now. Whoa, whoa, whoa! The government has made a commitment and it must respect it. Otherwise, Quebec will not appear reliable – and that would have serious consequences.
Nortvolt currently has nine active mandates in the Quebec lobbyists registry, including one in Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville.
The mayor of the latter municipality, Martin Dulac, declined the interview request of the Duty.