Quebec two-faced on environmental issues

Quebec has some nerve to come after the Alberta oilsands industry.

Its latest high-profile salvo came after the Copenhagen climate conference in December, when Premier Jean Charest singled out Alberta for causing Canada to adopt what he considered weak targets for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

Earlier, at the Copenhagen conference, Quebec and Ontario declared they wanted no part in offsetting emissions directly related to oilsands activities.

But Quebec seems to have no qualms reaping the economic benefits from all the money and jobs that flow out with the bitumen.

For years, workers from Quebec — like those from other provinces — have been migrating to Alberta to take advantage of oil patch-related work.

And just last week, it was revealed the Quebec government was actively encouraging businesses to take part in a trade mission to Edmonton next month to drum up more of that work.

Starting March 22, Quebec firms are invited to travel to Alberta on a four-day junket in hopes of tapping into some $200-billion worth of spending expected from such energy giants as EnCana, Suncor and Imperial Oil.

The Quebec government promises to subsidize travel expenses to the tune of $250 for every firm that takes part.

“This is a unique opportunity for businesses to position themselves to establish ties to the big decision-makers of Alberta’s energy sector,” says one Quebec government ad.

And while Quebec continues to feel some kind of moral superiority over their relatively clean hydro-electric power supply, they have yet to clean house on some dangerous materials being dug out of the ground in their province.

Quebec has been actively aiding the asbestos lobby to market their product for use in developing nations.

Asbestos fibres were once used extensively in the industrialized world for their fire- and heat-resistant properties, but have fallen out of favour in construction because of their link to lung disease.

Quebec’s workplace health and safety commission notes that in 2008, 58 of 127 workplace deaths were linked to asbestos, making asbestos-related deaths the most common among workers in that province.

The asbestos industry maintains their product is safe to use under proper conditions and with proper health and safety precautions.

While on a trade mission to India a few weeks ago, Charest refused to stop exporting asbestos to that country, where it’s reported construction workers are developing health problems.

In a letter to the Quebec government, scientists from Canada and around the world urged Charest to reconsider his pro-asbestos stance. Other commentators were wondering where Charest’s oilsands-bashing, pro-environment enthusiasm had gone.

It’s curious to compare Quebec’s pitch for asbestos exports versus how the material is handled at home.

When I held a job at a Montreal university years ago, my co-workers and I were moved out of our office one summer to allow for renovations.

No sooner had we carted away our belongings that a bright orange tarp was erected around the entrances to space we had occupied.

Printed on the tarp were a bio-hazard symbol and two words: “Danger: Asbestos.”

In Canada, asbestos is regulated by the federal government as a hazardous material. Countries including the U.S., France, Australia and New Zealand have banned the import of the substance.

Yet Quebec continues to mine the fibres, hoping to sell them for use in poorer countries.

Quebec is hardly in any kind of position to be lecturing Alberta on oilsands and the environment — not until it takes care of its own environmental issues and discourages its people and companies from taking advantage of oilsands business. – ricky.leong@sunmedia.ca, Tuesday, February 16, 2010, http://www.calgarysun.com/news/columnists/ricky_leong/2010/02/16/12892341.html