(Ottawa) Quebecers must have the opportunity to vote on the project to build a natural gas liquefaction plant in Saguenay during the next election campaign, says MP Pierre Poilievre, considered the leader in the race for leadership of the Conservative Party.
Posted at 6:57 p.m.
Mr. Poilievre, who obtained the support of a first Conservative MP in Quebec, Pierre Paul-Hus, on Thursday, believes that this project proposed by GNL Quebec is more necessary than ever, even if the Legault government has dismissed last year.
Mr. Poilievre can also count on the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, to make it an issue during the provincial elections in the fall.
“We are the only party that is in favor of this project in Quebec. We’re going to make it an issue. All of our Saguenay candidates make it a priority, ”confirmed Éric Duhaime on Thursday.
On Wednesday, however, the National Assembly adopted a motion reaffirming its opposition to the project, which aimed to export natural gas from Alberta to Europe through a pipeline linking the province to the Saguenay. where it would be turned into liquid.
One of Mr. Poilievre’s main opponents in this race, former Quebec Premier Jean Charest, also said he was in favor of the idea of reviving the LNG Quebec project.
In an interview with The PressPierre Poilievre said he was convinced that this project now has the support of a majority of Quebecers, citing in passing a recent survey conducted by the Montreal Economic Institute.
“Quebecers should have their say. I believe that the political class is disconnected from the reality of Quebeckers, who, according to a poll, show that they agree with Pierre Poilievre on the LNG file in Saguenay,” he said in a tone without call. “This is a golden opportunity for Quebecers to earn a living by taking money from polluting dictatorships and supporting our energy,” he added.
According to him, the war in Ukraine has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that projects such as that of GNL Québec are in the interest of Canada and its allies. He recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin uses revenues from the sale of oil and gas to European countries as a war chest.
“Here is the choice that must be made. (Justin) Trudeau and (Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François) Blanchet want natural gas money to pay for Putin’s missiles. I want this money to give country checks to Jean-Marie Tremblay, a welder from Saguenay, ”he said.
How does he intend to go about convincing the Legault government to change its tune in this case? “It’s Quebecers who will convince him to change his mind. […] Quebecers know that this is the best way to produce this energy, it is to do it here in Canada,” he argued.
Recall that this project, which was valued at $ 14 billion, was rejected by the government of François Legault in July 2021 on the grounds that the company had failed to meet three important criteria. According to Quebec, the project had not acquired social acceptability, it did not promote energy transition and it did not contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.