This week we learned that the federal government is authorizing the destruction of 37 bodies of water, including 8 lakes, to serve as garbage dumps for the mining industry.
Farewell to Bloom Lake and other ecosystems north of Fermont, home to several hundred species of fish, amphibians, birds and plants of all kinds.
Too bad. You’re being suffocated.
Destruction in perpetuity
Instead of protecting the environment by enforcing the Fisheries Act, Steven Guilbeault is giving his approval to an absurd authorization, already granted by the Quebec government.
He does not wear the pants that his title of Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada entrusts him with.
Like the Legault government, it ignores the recommendations of the BAPE, scientific advice and public opinion.
Through this environmental irresponsibility, Champion Iron will turn 156 hectares of diverse habitats, including that of northern pike and lake whitefish, into trash.
In total, 1.28 billion tonnes of mining waste will be dumped there over about 20 years. That’s the equivalent in volume of 30 million fully loaded 12-wheel trucks. Bumper to bumper, they would circle the Earth nine times.
This is how we allow ourselves to sacrifice in perpetuity ecosystems which are the fruit of millions of years of evolution.
What legacy are we leaving to our children on lands that belong to us collectively?
One decision at a time, we are destroying the natural heritage on which their future depends.
Use the pits
This authorization is all the more absurd, knowing that Champion Iron could backfill its mining waste in the open pits that it dug itself.
This practice is common in the mining industry in Quebec as elsewhere. However, it costs “more” than using waterways as garbage dumps.
But this is only because we do not take into account the immense value of our natural heritage.
I hear some people say to me: “Yes, but the jobs!”
Using the pits would create more jobs, but would generate less profit. Obviously, the company doesn’t like that.
What choices for society?
Sacrificing 37 rivers is a high price to pay for jobs in a remote area. Especially when we know that it would be possible to operate the mine with a much smaller environmental and social footprint.
The impacts of “fly-in, fly-out” must also be considered. Several hundred employees must travel to Fermont by plane for periods of a few weeks or months.
This practice is also one of the justifications for the expansion of the Saint-Hubert airport, in addition to generating GHGs.
We must ask ourselves whether this is the type of development we want for Quebec. Especially since there is currently a labour shortage in sectors that are vital to our quality of life: construction and renovation, public transportation, health, education, etc.
Once again, it is short-term economic choices that prevail over the need to protect natural environments.
This is not sustainable development. It is not in the interest of our children.