Northvolt : request for a complete BAPE
Next actions of the Citizen Action Committee (CAC) project Northvolt
Here is a message from the Citizen Action Committee (CAC) Northvolt project that MARE actively supports :
“Irregularities and circumventions have been revealed in the Northvolt file and they continue ! This incomparable saga, forces us to take serious steps since both Northvolt and a group of decision-makers, procrastinate or still refuse to answer the legitimate questions of a large part of the population, dont 68% wanted a BAPE before construction began.
1) Drinking water from the RICHELIEU RIVER : first and main source of drinking water in the Vallée-du-Richelieu, protected by federal law and recognized by the National Assembly.
More 50 000 tons of a long list of contaminants are already buried on the ground. The deforestation that was carried out and the major work required for the construction of the upcoming gigafactory, will accelerate and amplify the flows in the river.
First action to come : taking citizen samples according to scientifically recognized methods and legally presented by bailiff to an independent laboratory, so that the company and government have no choice but to recognize the results.
2) The regulations of the MRC-VR and its municipalities : ZONING CHANGED WITHOUT CONSULTATION
Here too, we see equally worrying precedents emerging on the court, medium and long term, so for our future, that of our children and that of their children.
Second action to come : Consultation with a lawyer specializing in municipal law to find out exactly how and why the fundamental right to a referendum was taken away from us and how we can be assured that present and future decisions in the current project, follow normal and above all legal procedures, since here too, transparency is absent.”
For more details or to give the CAC a little help, Click here.
Northvolt : sending letters to provincial and federal environment ministers
The Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, now admits that he did not “18 at 24 months to waste” with a BAPE in the Northvolt file, as if all BAPEs had to be held over such a long period (which is not the case) and as if this process was just a waste of time. (For more details, see this article from the Press.)
Éric Pineault’s reaction, professor at the Institute of Environmental Sciences at UQAM, in a Radio-Canada article on this subject is eloquent : “That a private company seeks to have as little regulation as possible and as many subsidies as possible without too many conditions, it's a good war. But this is not the role of a State, which must exercise an opposing balance of power.”
The MARE supports the CAC citizen group – project Northvolt, by the creation of a working group and by close daily collaboration.
We also joined the Northvolt mobilization group of Réseau Demain le Québec and are also working in collaboration with them.
Our latest actions : sending official documents to our political leaders on March 1 :
1) A BAPE request sent to the Minister of the Environment as well as to Prime Minister Legault and Minister Fitzgibbon.
To view the full request, Click here.
2) A request for urgent intervention addressed to the Federal Minister of the Environment, M. Guilbeault, regarding site contamination and the dangers of putting contaminants back into circulation during plant construction work.
To view the full request, Click here.
Ces 2 requests were made in collaboration with the citizen group CAC, the TVSO interview as well as Mothers at the front.
And here are some photos of the Northvolt sit-in organized by the Mothers at the Front on 3 March in which members of MARE participated !
Northvolt : Funeral march and new petition
The Northvolt battery factory is the largest private industrial project in the history of Quebec, which did not prevent, for the moment, the government of Quebec to refuse to hold a real independent environmental assessment based on a BAPE (Office of Public Hearings on the Environment) complete while the BAPEs were precisely created for this type of file.
That is why, Sunday 4 February, we were around 300 people (including several members of MARE) to participate in a funeral march in McMasterville to mourn the loss of many wetlands, but also the loss of a certain form of democracy essential to the preservation of ecosystems.
And now ?
We continue, in supportto the Citizen Action committee – project Northvolt to demand what should only be a basic request in Quebec : holding a complete BAPE for the Northvolt file.
You couldn't be with us on 4 February and you're wondering how to help ?
You can do it right away by signing this petition which asks :
– to the mayors of the municipalities concerned, as local government, to undertake the necessary actions to take into account the concerns of their citizens
– to the Quebec government to suspend work at Northvolt, while a BAPE investigation is carried out.
Northvolt : citizens organize themselves
Au MARE, we contacted the groupCitizen Action Committee (CAC) Project Northvolt to offer them our support.
To quote our late M. Hubert Reeves, “only citizen and associative mobilization will encourage, if not to say will force elected officials to take concrete action to stem the planetary devastation”. In the case of Northvolt, citizens from across Quebec are concerned not only about the environmental and social impact of the project, but also by the way in which the Quebec government seems to prevent the population from expressing themselves.
The citizens of CAC Projet Northvolt have a lot on their shoulders and need help!
You are interested in getting involved ? That's good, the CAC Projet Northvolt group is looking for collaborators !
Ensemble, we go further !
Thanks for your help !
Sign the petition for the national assembly
The provincial government announced the start of construction on an economic megaproject for the Swedish company Northvolt, manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles.
Since, this announcement has caused a lot of ink to be spilled and raises a significant number of questions.
Among others, the Northvolt project involves the construction of a factory located in a controversial location. The Ministry of the Environment had already refused the construction of a housing project last spring on this same site.. We invite you to consult the 2 following links for more details (ICI andICI).
Furthermore, this decision does not seem to take into account the 74 wetlands present in this territory and a significant number of species at risk.
It must also be said that the Quebec government, without fanfare, last July raised the thresholds for being subject to a BAPE investigation for factories that manufacture battery materials. This will allow the Northvolt factory to enter into activity without the BAPE study.
This is why we invite you to sign the petition for a BAPE investigation before the establishment of the Northvolt battery factory..
You have up to 13 January 2024 to do it.
