Brenda O’Farrell
The Advocate

Following last month’s announcement of the $2.7-billion investment by the federal and provincial governments to help build a massive electric vehicle plant near St. Basile le Grand and McMasterville, a recent report by Radio-Canada claims concerns have been raised at how Quebec’s push to attract battery tech plants could eat up valuable farmland.

According to a document obtained by the French-language media outlet, everything from graphite mines to battery factories represent what is described as just the beginning of a trend that will erode farmland, pushing it to be put to other uses, officials with the provincial Agriculture Ministry are warning.

And these concerns are being raised as the provincial government continues its year-long consultation as it prepares to overhaul the laws that govern the protection of farmland in the province.

In September, Swedish battery manufacturing giant Northvolt announced it would build a factory in St. Basile and McMasterville. It is its first battery mega-factory outside of Europe. The first phase of the project, pegged at $7 billion, was characterized as the largest private investment in Quebec’s history. It will be located on 170 hectares.

When in operation, the facility is projected to produce batteries for 1 million electric vehicles and contribute up to $1.6 billion to the economy.

Mining requests OK’d

When it comes to mining, the provincial Agriculture Ministry is raising a warning, pointing to recent alarming statistics. According to Radio-Canada: “In Quebec, when a mining project wants to encroach on agricultural land to explore or exploit, it gets the green light every time.”

The report claims that between April 1998 and March 2022, the Commission de protection du territoire agricole approved all 10 mining related requests on agricultural land it received. This put 1,780 hectares out of food production.

The CPTAQ has also approved 97 per cent of all infrastructure projects linked to transportation and hydroelectric production, representing another 2,826 hectares of farmland lost.