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Jean Charest caught by surprize

Posted by Montreal Environment in Aboriginal, Energy

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” – Albert Einstein

The saga of the Hydro Quebec’s Rupert Diversion project, in the James Bay, is continuing while the authorization by the provincial and federal authorities is expected to follow the Review Panels’ recommendations, slated to become public in October 2006.

After a meeting with the Cree community of Wapmagoostui, on Wednesday August 9th, Quebec’s Premier, Jean Charest arrived at the Nemaska Airport around 11:00 PM. To his, and everyone else’s surprise, he was greeted by spokespersons from Sierra Club of Canada (Daniel Green), Fondation Rivieres (Anne Marie Saint-Cerny), Rupert Reverence (Nicolas Boiscair) and a local trapper, Freddie Jolly. Daniel Green, of Sierra Club of Canada, requested and obtained a private meeting with the Premier to impart the environmentalists’ view of the likely impacts of the Eastmain 1A/Rupert Diversion project. Never mind that a CBC crew just happened to be in the area, the Premier’s entourage was at a loss of how all this action could take place in one of the most isolated airports in the province.

The claim that the three environmental groups were in the area on an unrelated project raised some eyebrows and was taken up by the Canadian Press (CP) in an August 10th article. Given the controversy of the project and Daniel Green’s statements at the Montreal Public Hearings in May 2006, such coincidence is hard to accept.

Nevertheless, the three environmental groups were in the area to take soil samples in the projected flooding areas on Freddie Jolly’s trapline (R21), which will be tested in accredited labs for mercury concentration. They hope that the results will serve as counter expertise to Hydro Quebec’s results presented in the Environmental Impact Statement. On the morning in question the three groups had made a request to the local Hydro Quebec liaison for a guided tour of the Eastmain 1 power station, which was later denied on grounds of security concerns of the Premier’s visit. Typical to all small towns, word of mouth can go a long way and the details of the Premier’s landing reached the environmentalists as well as the CBC crew, which was filming in the area for a series of short newscasts that will be aired in September.

Nicolas Boisclair stated: “Surprizingly Jocelyne Richer of CP did a bad job because she said on her article that Daniel Green said that Hydro underestimated the impacts… but she was not at the meeting and Daniel didn’t talk to her”. The article in question may tarnish the Canadian Press “unbiased, timely reporting” claim, although no official statement has yet been released from the environmental organizations involved.

Whether it was a heavenly intervention of simply being at the right(or wrong) time and place , such synchronicity is bound to puzzle the staunchest skeptics.