Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidates Pierre Poilievre and Jean Charest have promised to revive the LNG Quebec gas project. The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, pleaded in the same direction on Tuesday. And the promoters of the project have not said their last word, since the lobbying mandates are still in force, despite the rejection of the Legault and Trudeau governments.
According to the information available in the Federal Registry of Lobbyists, the President of GNL Québec, Tony Le Verger, registered a “communication” made on March 7, 2022, one month after the official rejection by the government of Justin Trudeau (February 7) , following the federal environmental assessment.
This was also the fifth “communication” from Mr. Le Verger entered in the register of lobbyists since the Legault government closed the door to the construction of the liquefaction plant and marine gas export terminal. natural in Saguenay.
On March 7, Tony Le Verger discussed the GNL Québec project with Richard Martel, Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) MP for the riding of Chicoutimi — Le Fjord, and Marc-Olivier Fortin, his riding assistant. The entry in the register, published on April 15, is very brief since it only mentions the words “environment” and “energy”. It was not possible to discuss this meeting with Mr. Martel, since the PCC did not respond to our request for an interview.
GNL Québec also still has an active lobbying mandate in the Québec registry. His registration was renewed on February 14, 2022. In addition to Tony Le Verger, there is the chairman of the board of directors of GNL Québec, Jim Illich, registered as a lobbyist. Their mandate is valid until March 1, 2023.
In the register of Quebec companies, GNL Quebec still has an active registration and “no intention of liquidation or dissolution has been declared”, according to what can be read in the “information statement” of the company.
Does GNL Québec look favorably on the support offered by Pierre Poilievre and Jean Charest, who are the two main candidates for the leadership of the PCC? “GNL Quebec has no comment to offer on the leadership race for the Conservative Party of Canada,” said company spokesperson Louis-Martin Leclerc, an adviser at Tact, in a written response.
War in Ukraine
Given the fact that Tony Le Verger is continuing his representation efforts in favor of the GNL Québec project, does this mean that the company still has hope of relaunching the project? “The tragic situation in Ukraine is exacerbating an energy crisis that began last summer in Europe and has unfortunately led to record levels of coal consumption,” the company spokesperson replied.
“Europe is taking important decisions to this effect through a set of sanctions and so, with the European Union’s recent decision to reduce its dependence on Russia, Quebec and Canada can help it diversify its sources. energy and replace more polluting fuels by exporting LNG from competitive and responsible sources such as the carbon-neutral Énergie Saguenay project powered by hydroelectricity,” he added.
Jean Charest made similar arguments last week. “It breaks our hearts to see the Europeans indirectly financing the Russians to invade Ukraine by buying their gas and oil, when we could be an ethical supplier to this market”, he said in particular on the Radio-Canada airwaves.
“We cannot impose it, but we can certainly defend the project in new circumstances and with new facts,” Mr. Charest also told the Montreal Journal, directly referring to the gas plant project. The latter even promised to revise the federal environmental assessment process to speed up the approval of such projects.
Election issue?
In interview at The Press, Pierre Poilievre agreed. GNL Québec “is a golden opportunity for Quebecers to earn a living by taking money away from polluting dictatorships and supporting our energy,” he said of this project designed to export natural gas operated by fracking in Alberta.
Mr. Poilievre also wanted the issue to be debated during the next provincial election campaign. The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, rightly promised on Tuesday to make it an “issue”, especially in Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean. “Those who thought it was over, they were wrong, because it will be more topical than ever,” he argued in an interview on Radio-Canada radio.
“We are aware that hydrocarbons have a harmful impact on the environment. Can we minimize this impact by producing locally rather than importing 100% of our resources? There is no contradiction between the environment and being for the project. It is compatible, ”argued Mr. Duhaime. “There are dogmatic people, who are waging a war on oil and gas. But by doing that, they find themselves currently allies of Vladimir Putin. They are weakening the position of our allies in Europe,” he added.
The government of François Legault repeated once again last week that the refusal of GNL Quebec was final. The Liberal Party, Québec solidaire and the Parti québécois were already opposed to the project, and this, before the refusal announced in July 2021 by the Minister of the Environment of Quebec, Benoit Charette.
Despite the rejections in Quebec and Ottawa, the promoters of the gas pipeline, the liquefaction plant and the maritime terminal could present a new project. However, it would again be subject to the entire environmental procedure, including public consultations. As for the gas pipeline that would supply a possible liquefaction plant, its approval rests solely with the federal government.