The new nickel standard defended by the Quebec government comes into effect this Thursday – and with very little support. The Port of Quebec has added its voice to the concert of opposition by asking the Minister of the Environment to “suspend the application” of a standard which quintuples the tolerated limit of nickel in the air.
The CEO of the Port, Mario Girard, sent a letter to the Minister of the Environment on Wednesday evening in which he invites him to hear the population and its concerns.
“Faced with these legitimate concerns, wouldn’t it be desirable to take a few additional weeks to reassure these citizens? Where is the urgency? asks Mr. Girard in his missive.
Minister Benoit Charrette had accused the Port of Quebec, earlier Wednesday, of showing opacity by refusing to share data from its atmospheric stations. “For some reason that I can’t understand, they don’t want to give us access to data from these stations,” the minister said.
The CEO of the Port of Quebec made a point of correcting the situation. “We are very open to sharing […] the data from our stations in the community”, assured Mario Girard, stressing that he had welcomed the Minister’s words “with amazement” and “a certain irritation”.
Many objections
The letter from the CEO of the Port of Quebec is added to a large contingent of opponents to the measure. Several citizens of Limoilou expressed their concern to see more nickel in the already polluted air that they breathe. The mayor of Quebec and the entire municipal council of the national capital have asked the government to back down. The 18 regional directorates of public health in Quebec have also expressed their reservations about the reduction of the standard – as have the college of physicians and the order of chemists of Quebec.
The maximum standard per day is increased from 14 to 70 nanograms of nickel per cubic meter (ng / m3). The new regulations further provide for the addition of an annual reference standard of 20 ng/m3. The national public health directorate and the mining company Glencore are among the few supporters of the new standard.
Thursday morning, Mayor Bruno Marchand again asked the government “to step aside,” denouncing the lack of data available to adequately assess atmospheric contamination around the Port of Quebec.
“What I ask of the Ministry of the Environment […] it is that we are developing the number of stations to measure, insisted the elected representative of Quebec. Currently, in Vieux-Beauport, there is no information. »
Minister Guilbault in the hot seat
Nickel resurfaced during the study of budget appropriations devoted to the Capitale-Nationale region on Thursday. Pressed by the opposition to justify relief “which no one seems to want”, according to the solidarity Sol Zanetti, Minister Geneviève Guilbault defended the new standard.
“It’s a standard deemed comparable to what is done internationally,” repeated the minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale. With this standard, we are reasonably convinced […] that we preserve the health and safety of the population, as well as that of the environment. »
The Deputy Prime Minister repeatedly invoked a decision based on science, repeating that the national public health directorate, under Dr Horacio Arruda, had given its endorsement to the new standard.
Asked to know at whose request the quantity of nickel tolerated in the air of Quebec increased fivefold, the minister refused to answer.
“I find it preposterous, was indignant the Liberal MP for Pontiac. It doesn’t make sense to embark on something without knowing why you’re doing it. Me, I can get into my tank and say to myself: I’m going to Gatineau. If I don’t know why I’m going, why would I? »
Earlier Thursday morning, MP Zanetti accused the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charrette, of finding himself “completely isolated” in the nickel file.
“Even the port no longer wants to move forward. He can’t go on like this: Benoit Charrette has to back down. There is no one behind him. »