Question Period Note: Énergie Saguenay Project, Quebec

• Protecting our aquatic ecosystems while considering economic interests of communities who rely on these industries for their livelihoods is a priority for our government.
• My Department will continue to actively participate in the provincial and federal environmental assessments for the Énergie Saguenay Project.
• DFO will continue to provide expert advice and evaluate potential physical impacts to the marine and freshwater environment, including the assessment of impacts on marine mammals from underwater noise.

• The second part of the public hearings on the LNG project, led by the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE), ended on November 4, 2020, after eight days of hearings, 13 sessions and some 180 interventions. About 80% of participants disapproved the project, criticized it or shared concerns. DFO did not participate in this second part of the hearings.
• On September 21, 2020, the BAPE launched the first of two phases of public hearings for the project. DFO participated by providing advice related to project impacts on fish and fish habitat.
• In the context of the first phase of hearings, the Department received questions mostly regarding the impacts of underwater noise on Beluga, invasive species, cumulative impacts and DFO’s regulatory process.
• Following the first phase of public hearings, six groups opposed to the project are demanding the resignation of Denis Bergeron, chairman of the hearings, claiming that he is biased towards the project.
• Recent media articles continue to reflect concerns from stakeholders regarding the project. Green Peace installed banners in 5 major Canadian cities to display their opposition to the project, and the Mayor of Tadoussac has expressed concerns that an increased number of ships in the Saguenay River could have significant impacts on the tourism industry. The proponent’s Environmental Impact Statement has also been subject to criticism due to a perceived lack of analysis of psychosocial impacts.
• On October 22,2020 Radio-Canada reported on concerns related to to marine noise impacts on mammals raised by the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM), a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific whale research and marine conservation education. The article invites citizens to visit DFO’s website to make comments, and suggests GREMM is solely organized by DFO, when in fact the organization receives funding from several organizations, including the government of Canada.
• In February 2020, GNL Québec Inc. (the proponent) submitted a summary of the provincial impact assessment for its Énergie Saguenay project, which acknowledged maritime traffic resulting from the project could represent a risk for the beluga and the other cetaceans of the St. Lawrence.
• The EA decision is anticipated for January 2021; however, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada is still waiting for the proponent to respond to two requests for additional information made in August and October 2019.
• The proponent submitted its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project on February 20, 2019, and DFO’s expert advice will be submitted to the Agency by November 2020.
• In August 2019, the Agency expanded the scope of the EA to include impacts caused by project-related marine shipping.
• The project is undergoing an EA under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.
• The terminal is proposed within the area of distribution of the Beluga (St. Lawrence Estuary population), an endangered species listed on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA). The marine traffic associated with the new terminal (300-400 transits annually) will go through the critical habitat of the Beluga, which is located in the Upper Estuary and in the southern portion of the Lower Estuary.
• A Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Report (2018/025) on the potential effects of construction of the Énergie Saguenay project and Saint-Rose-du-Nord marine terminal indicates that additional traffic on the Saguenay Fjord will affect a portion of the Beluga critical habitat already subject to noise (Sainte-Marguerite Bay) and regularly frequented by females and juveniles, a particularly vulnerable segment of the population.
• According to the Agreement-in-Principle of General Nature signed in 2004 between the Mamuitun and Nutashkuan First Nations and governments of Quebec and Canada, the project is located on a territory common to the Mamuitun First Nations, namely the Pekuakamiulnuatsh, the Innu of Essipit and Pessamit.
• In addition, the Huron-Wendat informed the Agency that the project site was included in their Nionwentsïo (customary territory protected by the 1760 Huron Treaty).
• In November 2016, DFO received a request for review for the project, in regards to a potential authorization under the Fisheries Act. DFO requested additional information from the proponent; however, the proponent has yet to provide a response.
• The proponent is proposing the construction and operation of a natural gas liquefaction facility and export terminal located in the District of La Baie, Saguenay City, Quebec.

Species at Risk
• The marine traffic associated with the new terminal would transit through the critical habitat of the Beluga (St. Lawrence Estuary population), an endangered species listed on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act.
• Protecting species at risk is a shared responsibility, and the federal government is committed to working with provinces and territories and all Canadians in implementing the Species at Risk Act.
• Under the Species at Risk Act, critical habitat identified for a listed species at risk must be protected from destruction. Proposed activities, including those in areas of critical habitat, may be authorized under the Species at Risk Act as long as they meet certain conditions and do not jeopardize the survival or recovery of the species.

Public Hearings
• My Department will continue listening to concerns raised by scientists and the public as part of the public hearings currently being coordinated by the province.
• We remain committed to protecting Canada’s aquatic resources