Montreal Gazette

Anticosti project is incompatib­le with emissions reduction targets, Couillard says

- cplante@ postmedia. com twitter. com/ cplantegaz­ette

CA R O L I N E P L A N T E

QU E B E C The Couillard government Friday crushed any hopes investors may have had of eventually drilling for oil on Anticosti Island, arguing the project is incompatib­le with the province’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

Quebec’s Natural Resources Minister, Pierre Arcand, said it’s impossible to think the province can encourage drilling on Anticosti Island and start reaping the benefits in 2040, when it has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent from 1990 levels by 2050.

“Do you think that makes much sense?” Arcand asked reporters, on the second and final day of the Liberals’ pre- session caucus meeting.

Arcand said the Liberals under former premier Jean Charest had previously discussed the possibilit­y of exploring for oil and natural gas on the island, but the existing exploratio­n agreements were signed by the Parti Québécois government, March 31, 2014, eight days before the PQ lost the election and the Couillard Liberals were swept to power.

“It was a big mistake and now we’re stuck with that,” Couillard repeated again this week.

In December, the premier told media his government would probably seek to pull out of exploratio­n agreements on the island even though the province is a financial partner and has already invested $ 13 million in the project.

Proponents of the Anticosti oil developmen­t project believe there are “dozens of billions of dollars” worth of hydrocarbo­ns on the island.

“For him ( Couillard), it’s very important to keep Anticosti available for people who would like to go there for fun, he’s not interested in the creation of jobs,” said Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault, hint- ing Couillard may be letting his own personal feelings about the nature- rich island — Couillard is an accomplish­ed fly fisherman — cloud his judgment.

Located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Gaspé, Anticosti is larger than Prince Edward Island but scarcely populated ( 240 residents).

“I’m hearing like you that some ( Liberal) MNAs are not happy with the position of Mr. Couillard on Anticosti. ... So I think that right now, it’s not going very well in the caucus of the Liberal Party,” Legault said.

Couillard said he does not have to deliver authorizat­ion certificat­es for fracking, the process of drilling down into the earth and releasing a high- pressure water mixture to break up the rock and release the gas inside, should hydrology studies prove that it’s too damaging for the environmen­t.

“I’m not ashamed of saying that for me, protection of a natural en- vironment like Anticosti is absolutely critical and part of my fundamenta­l responsibi­lities,” Couillard told a press conference on Friday.

Petrolia Inc., a Quebec oil company taking part in the venture, said in a press release it is staying focused on the project, which was “duly signed in good faith by all the parties.”

In “sustainabl­e developmen­t,” there is the word developmen­t, Legault insisted, adding the government is still very far from its objective to create 250,000 jobs in five years.

Leaning on Statistics Canada’s latest labour force survey, Legault said Quebec lost 3,200 jobs in January, for a total of 42,700 jobs created since the Liberals came to power. “The business community is feeling let down,” Legault said.

The National Assembly resumes sitting Feb. 9.

 ?? J A C Q U E S B O I S S I NO T / T H E C A NA D I A N P R E S S ?? “Protection of a natural environmen­t like Anticosti is absolutely critical and part of my fundamenta­l responsibi­lities,” Premier Philippe Couillard said on Friday.
J A C Q U E S B O I S S I NO T / T H E C A NA D I A N P R E S S “Protection of a natural environmen­t like Anticosti is absolutely critical and part of my fundamenta­l responsibi­lities,” Premier Philippe Couillard said on Friday.

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