Green Electrification and Mining Plans that Clash with the People's Wishes
Gatineau climate strike action, September 23, 2022
The Quebec ruling class says that the environment is a Quebec value that it defends. Is it really the case? Just take a look at Bill 44, An Act to provide for the effective governance of the fight against climate change and to promote electrification passed by the National Assembly on October 20, 2020 by a vote of 74 to 47. On the strength of this law and its plan to make Quebec "the battery of North America," the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) recently announced its intention to double the capacity of Hydro-Québec. As such, it plans to harness new rivers over the next few years. In anticipation of this announcement, the Legault government rejected the creation of a protected area along the Magpie River, a 300-kilometre river that flows into the Gulf of St. Lawrence west of Havre-Saint-Pierre, because of its hydroelectric potential.
Many are opposed to this project, such as the prefect of the Minganie Regional Municipality and the Ekuanitshit Innu Council, who say that they have already lost important areas to the flooding caused by the Romaine River dam. Last year elected officials from the North Shore and First Nations representatives declared the Magpie River a "juridical personality," a status which means that the river is a living entity with its own rights, just like a human being or a corporation. The executive director of the Société pour la nature et les parcs du Québec said, "The vision of Quebec becoming the battery of North America represents a huge risk to the protection of our territory and our biodiversity."
On the other hand, the Legault government's announcement last October to create a "global hub for the battery industry" in Quebec has direct repercussions on the human and natural environment of some 20 municipalities in the Outaouais, especially the Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Papineau where graphite, one of the critical minerals, is found in abundance. In this RCM, there are hundreds of mining exploration claims for the extraction of graphite, and almost every village is targeted by these claims.
In its "Quebec Plan for the Development of Critical Minerals
2020-2025," the Quebec government claims that "the development of
critical and strategic minerals will allow Quebec to pursue its energy
and technological transition and create quality jobs in the regions
while contributing to the
development of a greener economy.
Graphite is one of these minerals -- along with lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper -- whose extraction is essential to this "global battery cluster" in which billions of dollars in public funds are being invested by the Quebec government. This critical mineral extraction project is part of the U.S. Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) to secure a supply chain of American-made critical minerals -- a partnership to which Canada is a signatory -- and the federal government's Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, which is itself closely linked to this U.S. partnership.
Although presented as only useful for electric vehicle batteries, graphite is also a component of military instruments and weapons, such as the graphite bombs used by NATO in the 1995 bombing of Yugoslavia. The graphite bomb is one of the weapons developed by the U.S. military to paralyze electrical equipment without destroying it permanently. When exploding close to the ground, this bomb releases thousands of microscopic carbon fibers that infiltrate all electrical systems -- power plants, transformers and high voltage substations or telecommunication systems -- in order to create gigantic short-circuits.
Currently, mining machines are at work between the municipalities of Duhamel and Lac-des-Plages, on a territory covering the area of several municipalities. Drilling is taking place 500 meters from Lake Doré, described as an exceptional and inhabited lake, just outside the Papineau-Labelle wildlife reserve. This work is part of a 15-year plan to produce 100,000 tons of graphite concentrate with 95 per cent carbon.
According to the mayor of Duhamel and spokesperson for the Papineau MRC, current laws allow mines to be opened almost anywhere. Residents and municipal representatives are getting together to demand a better control over mining in their region. The residents of Petite-Nation have the support of the MRC and the 10 municipalities of the region in opposing these developments. They decry the lack of regulations allowing municipalities and MRCs to control the development of the mining industry on their territory. Even the elected officials claim that they do not have the necessary authority to ensure that the will of their constituents is respected and to protect the recreational and tourism sector, the resorts, forestry and public health. According to the mayor of Duhamel, "If it's about minerals for the future, it's also about our future and we would like to have a say in it."
Pierre Soublière is the PMLQ candidate in Chapleau.
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 21 - September
30, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmld2022/Articles/D520214.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca