Port of Quebec: Claude Villeneuve attacks Mario Girard

The assertion by the outgoing CEO of the Port of Quebec, Mario Girard, that only 3% of harmful dust comes from port facilities startled Claude Villeneuve, leader of the opposition at Quebec City Hall.

“I was a little unconscious [de lire ça]», admitted Mr. Villeneuve. Three percent is very reductive. I’m not sure that’s the number. And if your 3% is the most toxic of the 100%, you cannot minimize your role like that,” he thundered.

According to him, “in Mario Girard’s speech, there is a complete misunderstanding of the role of the port in the air quality situation in the sector. There is all the insensitivity to that.”

The imminent departure of Mr. Girard, who will soon take the helm of the General Delegation of Quebec in Tokyo, makes Mr. Villeneuve say that the coming change at the port will be “beneficial” for everyone. “Sometimes it’s good for everyone to get some fresh air,” he said.

Port Explanations

In a column published Friday in The JournalMr. Girard maintained that “somewhere at the end of the list [de production de poussières nocives]there is a small contribution from the port […] If we removed the port and made a large park, 97% of the problem would still not be solved.

To support its claims, the Port cited a July 2023 judgment of the Court of Appeal in which it is written that “the experts concluded that the contribution of the activities of CAQ (Arrimage Québec) to the dust problem in the area was minimal, at most of the order of an “overestimation” of around 2.8%, and that the dust fallout was mainly due to the abrasives used during the winter period.

Other reactions

Asked to react, the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, argued “that there will always be challenges in having a port sector, just as there are challenges in having industrial sectors, near residences. The City, when we build it – 15, 20, 30 years later – it supposes, in the use of spaces, to work jointly to respond to different priorities which, sometimes, conflict.”

“All stakeholders who contribute to the emission of fine particles must work to improve our record. The port is part of it,” he said.

Patrick Paquet, head of Équipe Priorité Québec, said that this data concerning the 3% “is not clear”. The latter believes that the Port has “an enormous responsibility” to explain its role and its actions to the population.

For her part, Jackie Smith, head of Transition Quebec, estimated that this rate of 3% “is another rabbit that Mr. Girard pulls out of his hat.”

Raymond Poirier, president of the Vieux-Limoilou neighborhood council, questions this 3% by affirming that this is an “underestimation” of the responsibility of the Port of Quebec in the current situation.