The approval of the Bay du Nord project demonstrates that the Trudeau government’s environmental rhetoric is nothing but smoke and mirrors, according to the Bloc Québécois.
Posted at 10:52
Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet made a formal outing on Thursday morning against this oil development project off the coast of Newfoundland, along with three of his deputies.
Mr. Blanchet first criticized the government for having made its announcement on the eve of the tabling of its budget, in order to stifle the negative reactions with another important subject. But above all, he believes that this announcement signifies the end of Canada’s commitment to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Canada, he says, has just announced to the world that it will continue to be one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs) per capita in the world.
Its MP Kristina Michaud, responsible for the climate change file, argued that it is difficult not to be cynical in the face of this decision, which comes three days after the tabling of the IPCC report expressing the urgency of reducing emissions from GHGs and barely a week after the presentation of the federal plan to reduce Canadian emissions.
Her colleague Monique Pauzé, spokesperson for the environment, for her part recalled that this government constantly repeats that its decisions are based on science, an affirmation that does not hold water, according to her, since science in in this case, comes from the hundreds of international experts who prepare the IPCC reports. She also denounced the intention to go drilling, with all the risks that entails, in a fragile ecosystem where many endangered species are found.
Bloc natural resources critic Mario Simard estimated that oil production in Bay du Nord will force Canada to sequester 400 megatonnes of additional GHGs, which it is currently unable to do.