Quebec civil servant quits over 'interference' in Northvolt file

An official at Quebec's Environment Ministry resigned over the government's handling of the Northvolt file Thursday, saying he had lost faith in the ministry.

Biologist Ghislain Côté was one of several officials who accused the ministry of mismanagement and of caving to political pressure in a letter sent to their superiors and the minister in February.

He said the authorisation given by the ministry to the Swedish company to destroy dozens of wetlands in the Montérégie region for a battery plant was a government order. He also believes that the ministry agreed to play politics and "put its mission aside" to meet political expectations.

"It seems to me as if there was political interference in the ministry's operations. I believe politics should belong to politicians while factual decisions should be left to professionals," Côté told Radio-Canada's Tout un Matin.

Though he said there is no proof his colleagues were forced to a give in to political pressure, Côté said information in the media shed doubt on the uniformity of the ministry's project approval processes. He said it seemed as though the government changed its rules to accommodate Northvolt — which the ministry has denied.

Environment Minister Benoit Charette admitted in March that the government decided not to submit the Northvolt project to an evaluation by Quebec's environmental watchdog because it would have sent the $7-billion project elsewhere. But he said he did not pressure the ministry to circumvent the rules.

Côté says the minister has been contradicting himself and losing trustworthiness.

In his letter, he urged the minister to publicly take responsibility for his decisions, which would fall under the Environment Quality Act. He says his letter remains unanswered, which prompted his resignation.

"I feel like the direction taken by the ministry goes against the need for transparency I have," Côté said.

"I'm concerned about making sure my colleagues can keep the independence required to ensure the protection of the environment and fulfill the ministry's mission," he said.

A spokesperson for the environment minister said they "wish him the best in his future endeavors and thank him for his years of service."

Northvolt work plows ahead

Last week Northvolt announced it was ramping up work on its battery plant in Saint-Basile-le-Grand with construction set to start early this summer. However, a dozen environmental green lights are still necessary.

The company also needs construction permits to renovate roads nearby to allow for 400 trucks a day and permission to convert the zoning in some areas from residential to industrial.

Officials say they won't cut corners for Northvolt, but the company is pushing to open the factory by summer 2026.

"We're ready to work with them to complete all those steps but there are no shortcuts," said Olivier Cameron-Chevrier, Saint-Basile-le-Grand municipal councillor.

Preparatory work in the area — which included cutting down 10,000 living trees — is almost finished. Northvolt plans to replant double that number nearby, but some of the clearing it did in February was not allowed.

After some backlash, Northvolt is promising to be more transparent and started publishing its requests for environmental permits online.

"Being singled out as not participating in a responsible way in an environmental debate was for us quite shocking," Paolo Cerruti, Northvolt's co-founder, told CBC last week.