Prime Minister François Legault has no intention of letting mining companies set up shop wherever they want if their projects are not accepted by the population.
Residents of Mont-Laurier and the surrounding area, in the Hautes-Laurentides, are extremely concerned to see the development of a graphite mine in the Kiamika Reservoir Regional Park sector.
“There is no mining project that will be done without social acceptability. It’s true for this project, it’s true for all the other projects, ”said Mr. Legault to the hearty applause of a hundred activists in Sainte-Adèle, in the Laurentians, as he presented the CAQ candidate in Bertrand, France-Élaine Duranceau, who will try to keep the seat stolen from the PQ by Minister Nadine Girault in 2018.
The firm Northern Graphite has expressed its interest in this territory which, like many others in Quebec, has attractive potential for a graphite mine.
François Legault is in no way surprised by the marked interest in Quebec’s mining resources.
“When I meet with American representatives or German representatives — who are very dependent on China for many of these minerals — they want and need the minerals. And some of those are needed, for example, to build batteries for electric vehicles. »
This is particularly the case with graphite.
“So it is normal that there is a craze. In addition, the price of metals, the world price of metals has increased. But what is important is to say: 1 — there must be social acceptability around the mine; 2 — there is a BAPE, a Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement. So the whole process is going to be followed. »
Nadine Girault has announced her withdrawal from political life for health reasons, after having had to suspend her ministerial activities a few times during her mandate. She delivered a very emotional testimony in front of the activists to express her disappointment at not being able to pursue her political career and her gratitude to those who had supported her.
France-Élaine Duranceau is a chartered accountant who has previously served, among other things, on the board of directors of the Canada Revenue Agency. Nadine Girault took the seat of deputy in 2018 with more than 6,000 majority votes after 20 years of undisputed reign of the PQ member Claude Cousineau, who did not stand for re-election in the last election.