François Legault assures that there is no question of relaunching GNL Québec after the October 3 elections. The project lacks the necessary social acceptability, he said Wednesday morning, in response to reports that his government has made informal representations to the federal government in an effort to revive the idea of a factory. of Alberta gas liquefaction in the Saguenay.
According to what the leader of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) argued, his party’s position on GNL Québec “has not changed”. “There is no intention to change that, [le refus du gouvernement québécois] “, he assured the press on the sidelines of an election announcement in Mont-Saint-Grégoire, in Montérégie.
“There is no social acceptability. We are talking about having a pipe that passes through Quebec, so it does not just affect Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. And the BAPE rejected it. So nothing has changed on that side, ”said Mr. Legault.
“The gas is closed,” he added. “On the other hand, we are open to exports of green hydrogen if the price is good and also according to the capacities we have in electricity”, also said the Prime Minister. This is what he said to the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, less than 10 days ago, noted Mr. Legault at a press conference. “We are open to exporting green hydrogen to Germany, not gas. »
According to information published Wednesday morning by Radio-Canada, the office of the Quebec Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, would have conducted informal approaches over the past two to three months in the LNG Quebec file. Three different federal government sources are said to have confirmed these steps.
According to one of Radio-Canada’s sources, Fitzgibbon’s cabinet would have let it be known that after a re-election of the CAQ in the provincial elections, there would be a desire on the part of Quebec “to reconsider” and “to accelerate” this project. This possible revival of the gas project would fit into the context of the energy upheavals caused in Europe by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Rather green energy
Called to react, Liberal leader Dominique Anglade accused François Legault of not telling the truth about the CAQ’s true intentions regarding GNL Quebec. “No, I can’t believe it insofar as there are people, internally obviously who say that we should push in this direction”, she said during a press conference in Saint -Agapit.
The Parti Québécois for its part reiterated its opposition to GNL Québec. “The smartest way to help the planet in general is to jettison polluting energies. […] And it’s also the smartest thing to do economically,” said its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. The PQ rather consider that it is necessary “to invest massively in green energies” produced by Quebec companies, in order to export them.
On the side of Quebec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said he doubted the rejection of GNL Quebec, reaffirmed Wednesday morning, by the caquistes. “In the environment, we cannot trust François Legault,” he argued. “Pierre Fitzgibbon is not just anyone in the government of François Legault. Mr. Fitzgibbon would never have done this without the blessing [du leader de la CAQ] “, he added.
As for the Conservative Party of Quebec, it was promoting the plant and marine terminal project on Wednesday as part of a visit to Saguenay. The formation of Eric Duhaime also believes that the October 3 ballot will be a “referendum vote” in the region about this project.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his part recalled on Wednesday that such an industrial project should comply with a federal and provincial environmental process, while stressing that Ottawa “accepts the good decision” of rejection formulated by Quebec for the first version. of LNG Quebec.
GNL Quebec did not want to specify on Wednesday whether discussions took place with the Legault government, or whether the project could be relaunched soon. “The Énergie Saguenay project and Symbio Infrastructure’s other energy transition projects continue to generate deep interest and are ideally positioned to help our transatlantic allies, while showcasing the best Canada and Quebec have to offer to diversify European energy sources and replace the most polluting fuels”, argued the company, in a statement sent to the To have to.
Recovery possible
In July 2021, the Legault government formally rejected the LNG Quebec project, citing mainly climate arguments. The Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, said at the time that the promoters had failed to demonstrate that their natural gas liquefaction and export project would make it possible to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by replacing sources more polluting energy. “On the contrary,” he pointed out, GNL Quebec risked “disadvantaging the energy transition” in the countries that would buy this liquefied natural gas.
Last February, it was the federal government’s turn to close the door on Alberta’s natural gas export project. The Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, then specified that “the significant negative environmental effects that the project is likely to cause are not justifiable in the circumstances”.
The Trudeau government had however indicated, in its refusal, that this did not prevent GNL Quebec from returning to the charge. “This decision does not prevent GNL Quebec from submitting new project proposals and does not exclude any potential development,” the press release stated.
The revival of GNL Quebec would not be easy, according to lawyer Marc Bishai, of the Quebec Center for Environmental Law. Proponents would once again have to go through the full Quebec environmental assessment process, including a review by the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE). And he would face stiff opposition in public consultations, he predicts.
GNL Quebec lobbying
Since the refusal of the LNG Quebec project, the company has however maintained active lobbying mandates in Quebec and Ottawa. The two lobbyists registered in the Quebec registry are continuing their efforts to obtain the “required permits” to relaunch the project. Their terms of reference also mention efforts to “obtain hydroelectric power and potential financial support” from the government.
Since the rejection of GNL Québec by the Legault government, the president of the company, Tony Le Verger, has also registered 12 “communications” in the federal register of lobbyists, including eight since the rejection by the federal government. In particular, he has registered three communication reports since the beginning of May. Among them are three political advisers to the federal Minister of Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson. Another member of the GNL Quebec board of directors, Jim Illich, has registered eight communications since the beginning of the year.
For new liquefied natural gas projects to have any hope of moving forward, the Trudeau government asserts, however, that greenhouse gas emissions related to gas exploitation will have to be consistent with Canada’s “reduction objectives”. Exports should also enable the replacement of more polluting sources, such as coal, and be part of an “energy transition” towards the export of hydrogen.