The Caquistes of Lac-Saint-Jean practice greenwashing, because in their speech, how often do we hear them make their profession of faith in favor of sustainable development? They will praise the construction of a car battery factory with one side of their mouth, while on the other, they are disconcerted by their programmed procrastination to let the woodland caribou die their beautiful death.
An issue that has been in the news in recent weeks is that of the completion (finally!) of the Aluminum highway in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. This file originated during the 1980s, but has not yet come to fruition; the two remaining sections, one at each end of what already exists, are still on the drawing board. In a very peripheral region of Quebec, contrary to the value, the finalization of a highway awaits the number of years.
As a reminder, in April 2008, on Radio-Canada radio, with in hand all the maps and relevant documents necessary to understand the file on the route of the section of the Aluminum highway to be favored on the Lake side , the former mayor of Alma Gérald Scullion, visionary and great defender of sustainable development, declared at a press conference that he would join the regional consensus, after having long advocated a northern route, the original one, in the direction of his city. It still took a certain amount of courage.
It is in the name of simple logic that Gérald Scullion has sided with agricultural producers to now defend another route which should end a few kilometers south of Alma. It is, according to the opinion of many, this position which was to seal the outcome of the case on the Lake side.
Among the reasons mentioned by the ex-mayor, that of the protection of agricultural land caused a lot of noise. And this aspect, we will agree, has become even more critical in 2024, given the pressing needs for food security as well as the growing need for Quebecers to practice local purchasing.
But against all expectations, it was the northern route which was finally chosen by the Ministry of Highways, even if it eliminated ten agricultural lands, while the southern route would have eliminated three.
In my opinion, once again, petty politics tinged with nauseating populism will have got the better of the most basic logic. Yes, I think that forces – coming from, one can imagine where – swayed the ministry’s decision in favor of the northern route.