The liquefied natural gas plant project of the company GNL Québec is indeed “dead”, confirmed Monday the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon.
At least that’s what he told the Canada’s National Observer in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where he is, along with a delegation from Quebec, to participate in COP27.
During the last election campaign, Radio-Canada reported that Pierre Fitzgibbon had informed the federal government that the Coalition avenir Québec could re-examine the GNL Québec project, and even speed it up, if he is returned to power on October 3.
This question had come to haunt the head of the CAQ, François Legault, who had assured that the door was closed to the export of gas from Quebec.
Faced with these revelations, Pierre Fitzgibbon had affirmed that “the project as it was presented” by the promoters, and which had been the subject of an unfavorable report from the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE), would not see the light of day.
“For the moment, it is not in the cards to reopen GNL Quebec. That being said, it’s up to the Germans, the federal government to say how they’re going to look at this. The federal government, I spoke to them: are you going to do a project [similaire à GNL Québec] in New Brunswick or elsewhere? Natural gas, it will be consumed for 10 to 15 [prochaines années] “, he then explained, in a press conference.
“Are we going to participate in this? So far, the population has been clear. […]. It may change, we will see, ”he added.