RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:Well Worth the GambleAlexandre Shields and Marco Blair-Cirino September 7, 2018 Environment After having denied for several months its intention to open the door to the drilling of oil and gas in the waterways of Quebec, the Couillard government finally admits that it will indeed be possible. The Coalition avenir Qubec (CAQ) is also in favor of projects in lakes and rivers. Arrested during a stopover of his campaign bus in Longueuil on Thursday, Prime Minister Philippe Couillard did not rule out the possibility of seeing oil or gas companies drill in a river "for specific reasons, in specific places ". "In these regulations, you always have to keep a small margin to deal with unforeseen circumstances and exceptional situations," he said. "We do not build our economic future on hydrocarbons, but there may be projects that, for specific reasons, in specific locations, may deserve more specific attention. It must be done with all the community that will be there and in a very, very parsimonious way, "added Mr. Couillard, after describing Qubec's regulations governing oil and gas activities as" the most severe in the world ". The Liberal government released on Wednesday in the Official Gazette the implementing regulations for the Hydrocarbons Act, including the one designed to regulate "exploration, production and storage of hydrocarbons in the water". This regulation offers the possibility of authorizing drilling, geophysical surveys using an "explosive energy source", production tests and oil and gas exploitation operations in watercourses. of Quebec. Even hydraulic fracturing could be allowed under lakes and rivers. And all these activities can be carried out near inhabited environments or protected territories. Moreau denied any opening However, to obtain authorization to carry out such operations, a company must demonstrate that "the planned activities do not compromise the integrity and conservation of the water environment". This last provision was added only in the last version of the regulation, published this week, after the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Pierre Moreau, had repeatedly stated that drilling in watercourses would be formally prohibited. "You say I want to open the door to the boreholes in the streams. This is downright wrong, "said the Minister, in an interview at Le Devoir, after the publication of the second draft of the regulations of the Hydrocarbons Act, in June. "There will be no drilling in the lakes and rivers," Moreau also insisted. There may be projects which, for specific reasons, in specific places, may deserve special attention - Philippe Couillard The minister also issued a letter in mid-August in Le Devoir entitled "Our lakes and rivers are not open to oil companies" . On August 17, the government also issued a communiqu entitled " Qubec says no to hydrocarbons in the water ". In theory, this should mark a complete shift in the position of the government, which had decided to open water courses for oil and gas projects from the first draft of the regulations of the Hydrocarbons Act, published in November. September 2017. The regulation developed by the Couillard government, which will come into force within 15 days, finally sets detailed rules to open the door to the exploration and exploitation of fossil fuels in Quebec's lakes and rivers. The favorable CAQ The Coalition avenir Qubec is also in favor of these operations in the waterways. "For conventional drilling in rivers, we believe that science has demonstrated that we can mitigate risk," said the spokesman of the CAQ, Ewan Sauves, Thursday, in response to questions from the Duty . Consult the map of exploration permits in force in Quebec. However, the CAQ opposes the possibility, inscribed in the regulation, to carry out fracking operations under watercourses. "We are against hydraulic fracturing in the water environment. Indeed, science does not conclude that this technology is safe for our lakes and rivers. "However, any hydrocarbon exploitation must comply in every respect with the environmental standards in force and take into account the social acceptability," said Sauves. For the PQ leader Jean-Franois Lise, it is clear that the Couillard government tried, over the months, to "misinform" Quebecers about its intentions regarding possible drilling in the lakes and rivers of the province. "Liberal credibility in oil is nil. That of the CAQ too, "he insisted. Mr. Lise also promised that no "new" project could come into being under a Parti Qubcois government . This means that a potential hydrocarbon sector would be limited, at best, to the three projects under development in Gaspsie. On the side of Qubec solidaire, it is estimated that the liberals and the Caquists are of the same opinion in relation to the exploitation of possible deposits of fossil energies. "Mr. Couillard laughs at the Quebec population. One morning, he says that there will be no oil exploitation in the water, shortly after, his government discreetly publishes a regulation that allows to do so. This dishonesty must be condemned by the population on October 1 ", also supported the co-spokesman of the party, Manon Mass . 53,000 km covered by exploration permits In a common text, several environmental groups have also denounced this door open to boreholes in water. Water-Aid Coalition spokeswoman Alice-Anne Simard recalled that the list of watercourses formally inaccessible for oil and gas companies has only 16 names. "It is essential to remember that Qubec has on its territory nearly 3.6 million lakes, ponds and ponds, while streams and rivers are in the tens of thousands. Protecting only sixteen navigable rivers for oil and gas drilling is clearly not enough to protect our most precious resource, "she said. Hydrocarbon exploration permits cover more than 53,000 km of Quebec territory. The official map of these permits shows that lakes and rivers in several regions could be targeted by licensed companies.