Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois believes in prioritizing the local use of wood before exports.
The parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire affirms that “there is no opposition in principle” to an increase in logging rights if this makes it possible to replace more polluting construction materials such as steel and cement.
Among the many measures of the Québec solidaire climate plan, the left-wing party is counting on greater use of wood in construction to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
To the “hypothetical” question of knowing if more wood would have to be cut to achieve this objective, Mr. Nadeau-Dubois said that production intended for local use should be prioritized rather than export.
“The first thing we have to do is transform our forest industry to use as much Quebec wood as possible in Quebec,” he replied at a press conference on Monday during a visit to Chibougamau. .
“Before saying: ‘we’re going to cut more’, the first step is to say how we use more wood in Quebec than we already cut. Because at the moment, there is a part of the forestry industry which is still very much oriented towards external markets, towards exports. »
“Before saying, we are going to cut more, the first step is to use more wood on Quebec territory,” he adds. This is the priority of Québec solidaire. »
Nadeau-Dubois made the comments after an earlier Monday morning visit to the Chantiers Chibougamau plant. The factory produces wood for construction, which replaces more polluting materials such as steel and carbon. During the visit, the director of corporate development, Frédéric Verreault, said that the company’s activities make it possible to avoid 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
The roadblock and immigration: the CAQ criticized
The solidarity candidate in Ungava, Maïtée Labrecque-Saganash, who could become the first indigenous woman elected to the National Assembly, criticized the remarks of the leader of the Coalition avenir Québec, François Legault, on immigration and the promise to build a blocade. The CAQ vision does not suit the needs of the North, according to her.
On Mr. Legault’s promise to assess the possibility of building a new dam, Ms. Labrecque-Saganash said that talking about it without consultations was “provocative” towards the indigenous communities.
“From what I heard, it didn’t resonate well with the communities. There are parties that have tried, historically, to inflict a collective trauma on our nations, precisely by hurting the territory, and that, we will always remember. »
On immigration, the riding of Ungava needs immigration to alleviate the labor shortage, said the candidate. Unlike Mr. Legault who brandishes the risk to social cohesion, she says she sees that harmony is possible between the different communities in the region.
“The other time, I was in the street, there were Filipino, Cree, Jamesian children playing together. When I speak of social cohesion, I believe that we must avoid making statements that are dangerous to that cohesion. Foreign labor is a success. People are integrated. People are part of the community. And that’s what we want. »
Health and Housing for the North
The solidarity caravan took advantage of its visit to Nord-du-Québec to unveil its commitments for the region.
The party is committed to building 1,000 housing units in Nord-du-Québec in a first mandate. He also wants to introduce a $10,000 bonus for health professionals established in the North.
Health services are insufficient in the region, laments Ms. Labrecque-Saganash. The shortage of caregivers particularly affects the Crees and the Inuit who have to travel to access care.
“Unfortunately, for the Crees, for the Inuit, it often means moving to Val-d’Or, Chibougamau, Montreal. The situation being that, now in Chibougamau and Val-d’Or, there is also a lack of personnel. So these establishments are no longer able to absorb the clientele from the Aboriginal communities. There are really big investments to be made. »