Unanswered questions remain for Baie de Beauport container terminal project
Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
editor@qctonline.com
As the notes of the Cigale music festival on the nearby beach fade into the distance, the future of the planned container terminal in the Baie de Beauport is gradually coming into focus amid increasing concern about the fragility of global supply chains.
Quebec City-based shipping multinational QSL is “considering a redesign of [its] port activities in the Beauport sec- tor to include a greater focus on container handling in a sequenced and community- friendly project,” the company says on its website.
The company said it has completed a needs asses ment and requested additional customs staff from the federal government to facilitate the project; a feasibility study, a greenhouse gas assessment and a request for authorization from the Canada Border Services Agency are ongoing, as is the production of a preliminary draft project.
In 2021, the federal government vetoed plans for a deep-water container terminal project in the area, known as the Laurentia project and piloted by CN Rail in partnership with Chinese shipping giant Hutchison Ports, after the federal Environmental Impact Assessment Agency found it was “likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects” to human and wildlife health, existing land use practices and air quality. The project also ran up against determined opposition from environmentalist and neighbourhood groups.
Steeve Lavoie is the first- term Liberal MP for Beauport- Limoilou, the riding where the terminal would be built. During the Laurentia debate, he was president of the Chambre de commerce et industrie de Québec (CCIQ). At the time, he called the cancellation of Laurentia “a sad day economically for Quebec.”
“One of the problems with Laurentia was that it [would have involved] an embankment, sending lots of rocks and sand into the St. Lawrence to create the project,” Lavoie told the QCT in a recent interview. “As far as I know, this [QSL] project would be built within existing installations, so there would be no new construction, but I haven’t seen the plans. As soon as we’ve seen the plans, we’ll be able to have a preliminary reaction.”
Lavoie said he didn’t know when to expect the plans. “This was already under discussion when I was at the CCIQ, so we don’t know whether it will be in two weeks or two months or a year.”
He said that given the fragility of global supply chains, the federal government “needs to look at any project” that can potentially help, and “will be looking at this project with a lot of interest.” Lavoie said the project could fall under the Carney government’s Building Canada Act, which became law in June over the objections of some Indigenous and environmental groups; the act allows the federal government to override some federal laws and environmental reviews to expedite projects deemed to be in the national interest. Lavoie said “all environmental and community consultation processes would be respected” if the project goes ahead.
Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand has supported the project over the objections of local environmentalist groups such as the Comité de vigilance des activités portuaires de Québec, telling reporters last fall, “Let’s wait until the promoter can demonstrate the project’s value, or lack thereof, and then we can judge. The best way to kill the economy is to say ‘Hmm, I don’t know, I don’t like that,’ any time anybody has an idea.”
Limoilou Coun. Jackie Smith was a vocal opponent of the Laurentia project and is skeptical of the QSL proposal. She said that although the proposed QSL project was much smaller than its predecessor, many unanswered questions remained. “What’s in the containers, and what is the added value for citizens of Limoilou, Beauport and downtown?” she asked. “Does this mean they’re going to expand their production and bring in more trucks and make air quality even worse? If there will be no environmental impact – fantastic. If it will improve our quality of life – fantastic. But there’s been no transparency.”
Federal minister for public services and procurement Joël Lightbound has said his office is following the file closely. “We recently had constructive discussions with QSL and the Port of Quebec. Discussions are also underway between QSL and the Canada Border Services Agency with a view to obtaining certification,” Lightbound’s director of regional affairs, Victor Kandasamy, said in a statement to the QCT. “It is clear that any project capable of generating significant eco- nomic benefits for the Quebec City region and strengthening the competitiveness of our maritime corridor deserves our full attention. But like any major project, it must meet the highest environmental standards and undergo the required public consultation and assessment processes.” QSL did not respond to requests for further comment.