Tree cutting has come to an abrupt halt at the future site of a factory for electric car batteries south of Montreal.
On January 9, Swedish company Northvolt got the go-ahead from Quebec to begin preparatory work on a gigantic green lot dotted with thousands of trees in Saint-Basile-le-Grand.
Now, an impending legal challenge from environmentalists has stopped the company in its tracks.
“We’re relieved about that, but of course, it could start again soon,” said Marc Bishai, a lawyer for the Quebec Environmental Law Centre (CQDE) .
On Monday, Northvolt started cutting over 10,000 trees on a 170-hectare lot to make way for their gigantic $7 billion electric car battery manufacturing facility, which the federal and provincial governments are subsidizing to the tune of about $3 billion.
On Thursday, three concerned citizens and the CQDE submitted a request for an injunction to halt the work temporarily.
“These are habitats of rich biodiversity, including at-risk species. These are wetlands that are now rare in the region that have important ecological functions,” said Bishai.
Northvolt says in good faith it stopped chopping Thursday afternoon when it became aware of the impending legal proceeding.
“As soon as we were informed of the request for an injunction, we made the decision to stop all work on the site, out of respect for the ongoing legal process,” the company said in an emailed statement.
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The table was set for a debate over the injunction in front of a Quebec Superior Court judge Friday morning, but Northvolt and the province asked for the case to be postponed until early next week. They said they hadn’t had time to comb through the pile of documents submitted by CQDE lawyers.
The judge accepted, and said the pause must continue until after the next hearing on Tuesday.
“The environment is protected until then and they get their postponement, so it’s a satisfactory conclusion for today,” said Bishai.
At issue is the fact Quebec did not activate its independent environmental assessment office (BAPE) to judge the factory project before giving it the go ahead.
Environmentalists have been calling for the province to pause Northvolt’s project and activate the BAPE to do a full analysis.
“We just want the government to own up and do the work that it’s supposed to be doing,” said Simon Bouchard, a spokesperson for a group of concerned citizens called Comité Action Citoyenne Projet Northvolt. The three South Shore residents who put their names on the injunction request are of Bouchard’s group.
The environmentalists plan to tell the judge how Quebec’s environment ministry denied authorization for a new housing development on the same land last year, citing its impact on wetlands and threatened or vulnerable species.
Meanwhile, the province softened rules and provided billions in subsidies to make way for Northvolt.
“The courts have quashed authorizations in the past when they noticed that there were some irregularities that are serious enough that the decision is considered unreasonable,” said Bishai. “So far, from the few documents that we do have, it does seem like a double standard.”
“Will we change the laws every time a company approaches us to do a project just because we we want them to be there?” wonders Bouchard.
If the judge grants the injunction, work will pause for 10 days and more legal hearings will take place.
Northvolt said in its statement its projects meet some of the highest standards in the world.
“Northvolt takes note of the postponement of the hearing which was granted by the Superior Court of Quebec,” the company wrote. “We intend to continue to comply with current environmental regulations. Northvolt is a pioneer of a sustainable model for battery manufacturing and we intend to continue our efforts to contribute to the decarbonization of the economy.”
The case will be back before the court on Tuesday morning at which point the judge expects both sides to be prepared for a meaningful debate on the subject.
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