{"id":43932,"date":"2020-10-22T05:00:20","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T09:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=43932"},"modified":"2025-07-02T04:10:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T08:10:23","slug":"300000-students-demand-the-immediate-shutdown-of-the-gnl-quebec-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/press-release\/43932\/300000-students-demand-the-immediate-shutdown-of-the-gnl-quebec-project\/","title":{"rendered":"300,000 students demand the immediate shutdown of the GNL Qu\u00e9bec project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

No social acceptability around it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Montreal, October 22, 2020 <\/strong>– In line with an unprecedented mobilization on the climate crisis, 48 student associations representing nearly 300,000 students<\/a> have officially voted to oppose\u00a0 the \u2018GNL Qu\u00e9bec\u2019 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\u00a0result of months of organizing by the Student Coalition for an Environmental and Social Shift<\/a> (CEVES (1)) and the Fjord Coalition<\/a> to support the creation of a network of student associations committed to the fight against GNL Qu\u00e9bec<\/em>. This student opposition adds\u00a0 to the numerous voices that have spoken out against this mega polluting project including 40 economists<\/a>, 127 academics<\/a>, 150 scientists<\/a> and 250 doctors and health professionals<\/a>, as well as several environmental groups.

This demand from student associations comes a little over a year following the\u00a0 largest environmental strike for the climate\u00a0 in Canada\u2019s history, back on September 27th<\/sup>, 2019. The youth\u2019s demand remains the same: the shutdown of all fossil projects that contribute to the climate crisis. The support (2) of Legault\u2019s government for GNL Qu\u00e9bec <\/em>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.
<\/p>\n\n

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\u00a0 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

The GNL Qu\u00e9bec <\/em>issue is central to the student bodies and they will keep at it. <\/em>Their question is addressed to\u00a0 Quebec\u2019s Prime Minister : what more will it take, Mr. Legault, to finally respect the people\u2019s voice and reject the GNL Qu\u00e9bec project?<\/em><\/p>\n\n


<\/strong>QUOTES<\/strong> : <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cGNL Qu\u00e9bec<\/em>, 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 Fran\u00e7ois 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\u201d asks\u00a0 Brooklyn Frizzle, Vice-President (University Affairs) for Students’ Society of McGill University.<\/strong>

\u201cMr Legault, our message is clear, there is no social acceptability for the GNL Qu\u00e9bec<\/em> project. We can no longer continue to fuel a system that is based on destruction and\u00a0 exploitation of the living. We, the Quebec youth, demand that you start to take our and the future\u00a0 generations\u2019 chance at a livable future seriously. The youth deserves better than GNL Qu\u00e9bec<\/em> \u201d insists\u00a0 Ashley Torres, member of the executive for the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) of Concordia University\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cDuring 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\u201d explains Maya Labrosse, communication coordinator for the Joliette C\u00e9gep student association<\/strong> (R\u00c9\u00c9CJL).
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe 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 Qu\u00e9bec<\/em>, 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\u201d Vincent Bonin-Palardy reminds us, the VP of university affairs for the Student Association of Science and Engineering at the University of Laval (AESGUL).<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat GNL Qu\u00e9ebec<\/em> is doing is called greenwashing. Period. Students will not be fooled.\u201d stresses  Ma\u00ebl Ferland-Paquette, coordinator of political affairs from Jonqui\u00e8re C\u00e9gep\u2019s student association (AGEECJ).<\/strong>
<\/strong>
<\/strong>\u201c<\/strong>As a young person, with the escalating climate and biodiversity crises, it\u2019s 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 \u201cgreen\u201d. 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\u2019s youth will pay the price. By buying pipelines, they are selling our very future.\u201d adds Shirley Barnea high school student from St George\u2019s School of Montreal, and organizer from <\/strong>Pour le futur Montreal<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u00ab It\u2019s terrifying that in 2020, we still have to fight againt these types of projects. We simply feel that\u00a0 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\u00a0 public\u00a0 opinion \u00bb add Albert Lalonde and L\u00e9a Ilardo,co-spokespeople of the Student Coalition for an Environmental and Social Shift (CEVES)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n


-END-<\/p>\n\n


For information, please contact :<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Loujain Kurdi, Communication specialist, loujain.kurdi@greenpeace.org<\/a>, 514-577-6657, Media relations in support of the CEVES.
Website : http:\/\/www.ceves.ca\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Twitter : https:\/\/twitter.com\/la_ceves<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Instagram : https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/la_ceves\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n

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

<\/a>Notes to Editors :<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n

  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.
    <\/li>
  2. In January 2020, before the formal assessment of public opinion and environmental impacts, Fran\u00e7ois Legault was all smiles on Twitter<\/a> 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 \u00c9nergie Saguenay liquefaction plant began, the Legault government once again announced its support for this project<\/a>. <\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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