Opposition parties criticize the Legault government’s unwavering support for the construction of a new fossil fuel transshipment terminal in Montreal’s east end. And like the City of Montreal, environmental groups are calling for the cancellation of the project, which will involve the passage of thousands of wagons of kerosene in residential areas.
The duty revealed this Thursday that the International Fueling Corporation of Montreal (CIAM) must still obtain authorizations from the Legault government before starting work on its marine kerosene terminal. The majority of the aviation fuel stored on site will then be shipped by rail, pipeline and truck to two Ontario airports.
Worried about the risks associated with this transport and judging that this terminal goes against the energy transition, the City of Montreal asked the government to close the door to the project.
Québec solidaire is of the same opinion. “Building more infrastructure to keep the oil industry thriving takes us away from what should be our biggest goal: putting everything in place to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050,” MP Manon Massé argued on Friday.
The Parti Québécois, for its part, has called for a review by the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE), including the transport of kerosene on the territory of the province. The BAPE has already analyzed the project in 2018, but excluding the entire fuel transportation component that will result from it.
According to available data, nearly 11,000 tank cars could cross Montreal each year from east to west, passing through residential areas, to supply Toronto’s Pearson airport alone. A total of 568 million liters could also be transported to Montréal-Trudeau airport by the Trans-Nord pipeline, which has experienced 25 “incidents” since 2013. From there, nearly 3,000 tank trucks can be loaded each year at destination Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier Airport.
“It is to be wondered if the east of Montreal is the best place to accommodate these infrastructures, while the majority of kerosene goes to Ontario”, also argued the national spokesperson for the Parti Québécois, Méganne Perry. Melancon. “This project lacks social acceptability, particularly with City authorities, and goes against the establishment of their economic hub in the transition sectors. »
“Worrying”
“Like many of our fellow Montrealers, we are worried about this project. It is very worrying to think that 11,000 more kerosene wagons will cross residential neighborhoods,” said official opposition spokesperson for the Metropolis, Filomena Rotiroti. The Liberal Party of Quebec also mentioned the need to ensure the “social acceptability” of the project before authorizing it, but also that “the necessary guarantees for the protection of residences, waterways and soils will be there.
Director General of Climate Action Network Canada, Caroline Brouillette believes that the construction of this kind of infrastructure will contribute to the worsening of the climate crisis. “As a signatory to the treaty for the non-proliferation of fossil fuels, Montreal should instead think about and initiate a just transition for the refinery sector on its territory,” she insists.
“Ten years after the Lac-Mégantic tragedy, it is absurd to see a government choose to expose densely populated areas of the island of Montreal to considerable risk,” adds Marc-André Viau, director of government relations at Equiterre.
Is the project consistent with Quebec’s climate objectives? The office of the Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks, Benoit Charette, did not answer our question directly.
“A decree in this file was approved by the Council of Ministers in June 2019. This decision made following a report from the BAPE tabled in May 2018 and an analysis report from the Ministry of the Environment produced in April 2019 makes it possible to conclude that the project has passed all the stages of admissibility”, however indicated the office of Minister Charette in a written declaration.