Quebec’s Minister of the Environment never disappoints. So, last week, during his visit to Ottawa, Benoit Charette threw himself straight into the arms of the Conservatives, while begging the Bloc Québécois to fully acquiesce in his ideas.
What did he go to plead on the other side of the Ottawa River?
Always a little hesitant, which sometimes makes him so endearing, Minister Charette argued, once again, that “Quebec” is doing enough to protect forest caribou. In other words, he asks Ottawa, in the name of his government, to watch him go and to kindly endorse, by looking away, the reign of laissez-faire over which he presides.
The Conservatives, whether in Quebec or Ottawa, have never really stood out for their commitment to environmental issues. The history of recent years has clearly shown this. This is what could well explain, in addition to his obsession with immigration, the constant enthusiasm of Prime Minister François Legault towards them. One thing is certain, we can clearly see what color we see the future of life on earth in these blue-gray parties.
Formerly elected from the Parti Québécois, successor to MarieChantal Chassé à l’Environnement, Mr. Charette seems to want to defend above all else, within the government where he made his nest, an economy of infinite exploitation and growth. It is not for nothing that he keeps repeating that a significant caribou protection plan endangers forestry production. The latter he considers a priority.
According to him, the decree that Ottawa is preparing to impose, after years of laxity, is nothing other than the fruit of a “poorly thought out law”. But how is it that in Quebec, for lack of consistent reflection with the objectives of protection, we have come to miss an effective law to preserve what remains of the caribou by dint of only looking at those which are on our twenty-five cents?
The minister reaffirms his will with this subdued tone which is commensurate with the noise his policies are making so far. It is becoming increasingly clear that neither the minister nor his government envisage that a weakened deer population could hinder forestry activities. Hence his tiptoeing progress in this matter. In half a country where spruce trees are now never bigger than toothpicks, are we to believe that everything is going well in terms of the environment?
“Sustainable development”, this fashionable term which covers all speeches, is only a practical oxymoron allowing growth to continue without brake, in the service of the enrichment of the same people, again and again. Meanwhile, economic disparities widen, sweeping behind them the illusory promises of a bright future for all.
Watching the Minister of the Environment in recent years, it is possible for many to think that he has a very personal way of considering the protection of biodiversity, which borders on pretense. This could not be more clearly seen in one of its most controversial files: the Northvolt automobile battery factory project.
Exchanges of information and emails presented to the Superior Court of Quebec reveal that the civil servants, to whom the minister should recognize expertise and a keen sense of the State, showed obvious discomfort — to put it mildly — in the face of his tendency to look the other way in order to authorize the hasty progress of this project. At a time when the hasty development plan for this battery factory risks getting bogged down due to the setbacks of the Swedish company, here is what officials were saying among themselves a short time ago:
“We are trying at all costs to make the project acceptable, when it is not. »
“It’s not transparent…and it’s a little crooked. »
Some seem to worry that they will be reduced to having to do everything “to make the ministry look good.”
“We must also act as if we do not know information that we do know. »
Despite the red carpet rolled out by the Quebec government in front of the multinational Northvolt, its officials nevertheless note that “many corners have been cut”. Will we accuse them of getting stuck in the carpet?
Government officials may well adopt a reassuring tone in the face of this airing of dirty laundry, but the situation looks rather bleak.
The internal documents, filed before the Superior Court, raise eyebrows to say the least.
These are not, for once, reports from consulting firms hastily written in this disconnected jargon to which we are accustomed, but rather real exchanges between real servants of the State, people dedicated to the service public for years. Faced with the actions of this minister, they admit their dismay. And in a way, they show their inability to reconcile their role as guardians of the integrity of the State with the indigestible mash that they are ordered to swallow.