No social acceptability around it.

Montreal, October 22, 2020 – In line with an unprecedented mobilization on the climate crisis, 48 student associations representing nearly 300,000 students have officially voted to oppose  the ‘GNL Québec’ project and demand its immediate shutdown.

This is the largest student mobilization targeting an infrastructure project since the 2012 student strike. This announcement is the result of months of organizing by the Student Coalition for an Environmental and Social Shift (CEVES (1)) and the Fjord Coalition to support the creation of a network of student associations committed to the fight against GNL Québec. This student opposition adds  to the numerous voices that have spoken out against this mega polluting project including 40 economists, 127 academics, 150 scientists and 250 doctors and health professionals, as well as several environmental groups.

This demand from student associations comes a little over a year following the  largest environmental strike for the climate  in Canada’s history, back on September 27th, 2019. The youth’s demand remains the same: the shutdown of all fossil projects that contribute to the climate crisis. The support (2) of Legault’s government for GNL Québec is clear and that is what the youth denounces: the government’s failure to listen to its own population. There is no social acceptability for this project from the past.

This rejection is directed at both the Government of Quebec and the BAPE (office of public hearings on the environment), whose first round of public hearings in September turned out to be a masquerade. The lack of independent experts tainted the credibility of the process not to mention the BAPE commissioners’ clear  disregard of citizens who took the time to prepare and ask questions. The time and space given to the promoter was also scandalous. For all these reasons, we cannot place our trust in this commission, especially when one considers the impact this decision will have on the future of Quebec. 

The GNL Québec issue is central to the student bodies and they will keep at it. Their question is addressed to  Quebec’s Prime Minister : what more will it take, Mr. Legault, to finally respect the people’s voice and reject the GNL Québec project?


QUOTES : 

“GNL Québec, like all extractive projects, is incompatible with the urgent need to limit climate change, which is felt first and hardest by those already living in precarious conditions due to systemic inequalities. We find it troubling that a number of CAQ ministers, including Premier François Legault, have already expressed support for the project, even prior to the completion of consultations with experts and affected communities. The Students’ Society of McGill University asks that students and community members join us in demanding that the provincial government rejects the project and reinvests in sustainable energy sources” asks  Brooklyn Frizzle, Vice-President (University Affairs) for Students’ Society of McGill University.

“Mr Legault, our message is clear, there is no social acceptability for the GNL Québec project. We can no longer continue to fuel a system that is based on destruction and  exploitation of the living. We, the Quebec youth, demand that you start to take our and the future  generations’ chance at a livable future seriously. The youth deserves better than GNL Québec ” insists  Ashley Torres, member of the executive for the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) of Concordia University 

“During this pandemic, every single day, people are told to listen to scientists, meanwhile the CAQ is ready to throw their support behind a fossil fuel project, despite the advice of scientists and experts alike, that are very clearly saying that this is a bad idea” explains Maya Labrosse, communication coordinator for the Joliette Cégep student association (RÉÉCJL).

“The science of the climate crisis is clear: the world is at a crossroads. In these circumstances, Quebec must be a world leader when it comes to the energy transition. With GNL Québec, this government is only digging us deeper into the fossil fuel energy abyss and with that, they are mortgaging off the future of young quebecers for a short term economic vision. It is our duty, as the next generation of engineers and scientists, to vehemently oppose the realisation of this project” Vincent Bonin-Palardy reminds us, the VP of university affairs for the Student Association of Science and Engineering at the University of Laval (AESGUL).

“What GNL Quéebec is doing is called greenwashing. Period. Students will not be fooled.” stresses  Maël Ferland-Paquette, coordinator of political affairs from Jonquière Cégep’s student association (AGEECJ).

“As a young person, with the escalating climate and biodiversity crises, it’s honestly terrifying to think about the future. The science clearly states that the only way forward is without fossil fuels, and yet the government has the audacity to pretend that natural gas is “green”. The CAQ brags about the (very debatable) economic benefits of liquefied natural gaz, but when the long-term effects of this project will be felt,  today’s youth will pay the price. By buying pipelines, they are selling our very future.” adds Shirley Barnea high school student from St George’s School of Montreal, and organizer from Pour le futur Montreal

« It’s terrifying that in 2020, we still have to fight againt these types of projects. We simply feel that  the CAQ is living in a different world than us as it is supposed to be working for the common good of its population. It would be naive to believe that we would stand by quietly while our governments hit the last nails into our coffins knowingly and against  public  opinion » add Albert Lalonde and Léa Ilardo,co-spokespeople of the Student Coalition for an Environmental and Social Shift (CEVES).


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For information, please contact :

Loujain Kurdi, Communication specialist, [email protected], 514-577-6657, Media relations in support of the CEVES.
Website : http://www.ceves.ca/

Twitter : https://twitter.com/la_ceves

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/la_ceves/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/coalitionceves/

Notes to Editors :

  1. CEVES does not represent any student association; it operates on the fringes of associative structures and it simply contacted and mobilized college and university student associations across the province so that they would adopt positions against GNL Quebec.
  2. In January 2020, before the formal assessment of public opinion and environmental impacts, François Legault was all smiles on Twitter while meeting the American investors of the project. Additionally, the premier of Quebec has praised the project in front of cameras, and in September 2020, when the environmental assessment process at the Énergie Saguenay liquefaction plant began, the Legault government once again announced its support for this project.