Although TransCanada abandoned its oil terminal project in Cacouna in April 2015, whales of the St. Lawrence are still threatened by the company’s current Energy East pipeline project, according to the brief submitted by the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM) to Quebec’s environmental assessment agency (BAPE) in April 2016 and released today.

Over a hundred other submissions to the BAPE have been made public since April 22, 2016, date that the BAPE enquiry commission’s (Commission) mandate concerning the Energy East project was suspended. On June 2, the Quebec Environmental Law Centre (CQDE) published 862 questions left unanswered since the suspension of the Commission’s work. CQDE hopes that the concerns expressed by organizations and citizens will be considered by TransCanada and the Government of Quebec under the mandatory environmental assessment process currently under way.

Sources: 

GREMM’s brief on TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline Project, Quebec Section (in French)

Assessment of TransCanada’s Energy East Project: 862 Questions Left Unanswered (in French)

862 Questions from Civil Society to Assess TransCanada Project in Quebec (in French)

 

To learn more:

On Whales Online:

Energy East Project: Another Threat for the Whales of the St. Lawrence

Oil Terminal Project in Cacouna: A Threat to Belugas (in French)

News - 3/6/2016

Béatrice Riché

Béatrice Riché has served as editor for the GREMM in 2016. She holds an MSc in environmental science and has spent several years working abroad in the fields of resource conservation, species at risk and climate change. Back on the shores of the St. Lawrence, which she keeps watch over every day, Béatrice writes columns on whales, drawing inspiration from events taking place here and afar.

Recommended articles

First Hybrid Rorqual in the St. Lawrence

After arousing curiosity last summer in the estuary, a deceptively similar fin whale has once again been turning heads. By…

|News 17/4/2025

Blue Whales, Their Calves, and the Timing Hypothesis

Have you ever seen a blue whale? Although this giant of the oceans is found mostly in the high seas,…

|News 5/5/2025

After Centuries of Decline, Good News at Last for Monk Seals

Named for their vague resemblance to black-robed monks, these animals have always been unique. Indeed, the three similar-looking species that…

|News 24/4/2025