Blanchet opposed to ‘turning Quebec into a motorway for dirty oil’

In a letter of reply that he has just sent to the Premier of Nova Scotia, the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, reiterates his “strong opposition to any project aimed at turning Quebec into a highway for dirty oil and gas from the West.”

Passing an oil pipeline through 830 waterways, including the St. Lawrence River, presents too many risks for the environment, particularly for drinking water, the Bloc Québécois leader points out in his letter. And that’s not counting the farmland along the route of the infrastructure, notes Blanchet.

Accepting this would be tantamount to accepting “all the dangers for Quebecers, but none of the benefits,” adds Blanchet.

The leader of the Bloc Québécois is thus replying to Tim Houston, who sent him a letter in February saying that he found his opposition to transporting energy from Western Canada to the Atlantic provinces “completely unacceptable.”

At the time, the Premier of Nova Scotia invoked the need for national unity and Canada’s energy self-sufficiency, in the context of American threats of tariffs.

Houston had also attempted to pass a motion calling on the federal government to condemn any political leader who opposes energy infrastructure projects, in the context of the trade war with the United States. But, he did not obtain the unanimous consent he needed in his Legislative Assembly to submit this motion.

In his letter, the Bloc leader took the liberty of firing an arrow at Premier Houston, who invoked national unity within Canada. “You didn’t have this thirst for national unity when Quebec was calling for the equitable distribution of asylum seekers among the provinces,” he replied.

The Bloc leader insisted that the principle of social acceptability of a project is “at the heart of democracy” and that there is currently no social acceptability for this project in Quebec. He points out that the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal is also opposed to the project, and that it represents 4 million citizens.

He concluded by saying that Quebecers know what is good for them and will decide accordingly.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews