Report - Agence canadienne d'évaluation environnementale

Opinions of participants
On another subject, some participants believed that the project, by its very industrial
nature, will help diversify the regional economy (Chambre de commerce des
entrepreneurs du Québec, DT16, p. 3; Ms. Nathalie Lafond, DM124; Mr. Mario
Castonguay, DM237, p. 1; Mr. Pierre Fraser, DM285, p. 1; Mr. Richard Tremblay,
DM387, p. 1; Mr. Lucien and Ms. Monique N. Dion, DM568, p. 1). In this respect, a
participant mentioned:
The city of Québec area has always been known as a “public servant area”,
because governmental offices were concentrated there. The decentralization of
these services has reduced the work potential for citizens. In the past few years,
we have seen a change in the direction of development, which is now focussing
more and more on industrializing the economy. The Rabaska project would
breathe new life into the region, which is already ailing from the closing of the
shipyard.
(Ropaq Construction inc. DM95, p. 7)
In the same way, the Société de développement économique de Lévis was of the
opinion that the Rabaska project will help maintain the region’s development rhythm,
which would compensate for a slowdown in some economic sectors (DM545, p. 10).
However, some participants believed the city of Lévis to be in a prosperous phase,
and that, consequently, the project isn’t essential for its growth (GIRAM, DM461,
p. 86). Some participants deemed the project’s drawbacks for part of the population
as outweighing its economic spinoffs. According to one of them, “the economic
spinoffs are not really that great when considering what our society must give to the
proponent, i.e. a complete section of an extraordinary landscape located on the
riverbank, right in front of the île d’Orléans” (Mr. Christian Ruel, DM194, p. 5).
Moreover, accepting the project was seen by some more as “a precedent which
sends the message that at Lévis, in Québec, a proponent can show up anywhere with
promises of economic spinoffs and jobs, regardless of the environment, regardless of
the local population” (Ms. Isabelle Carrier, DM624, p. 13).
40 Rabaska Project – Implementation of an LNG Terminal and Related Infrastructure