Reporting

In Quebec, citizens are trying to reclaim their river in a sustainable way

The St. Lawrence River in the heart of winter, seen from Quebec City, in January 2023. © Léopold Picot/RFI

Text by: Léopold Picot Follow

5 mins

The attachment of Quebecers to the St. Lawrence River is multiple and variable, depending on the territory.

Gradually, the need to protect and enhance it in the long term is making its way into people's consciences, pushed by actors in the field, far from government political procrastination.

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From our correspondent in Montreal,

In Quebec, the St. Lawrence is everywhere.

It is the waterway that allows you to penetrate as far as Toronto and Ottawa, passing through the cities of Montreal and Quebec.

The river is essential for Aboriginal and Canadian cultures, provides access to the sea and access to world trade, fisheries resources and hydroelectric power, in particular thanks to its tributaries: 95% of the electricity consumed by Quebecers is provided by hydraulics.

A river-sea which seems, like a magnet, to attract human settlements to its shores.

An exposed river

Necessarily, this omnipresence of cities and industries on the banks of the river has impacts.

At the level of the loss of its biodiversity, first.

Soil artificialization, one of the great scourges of Western societies in terms of the environment, directly affects the St. sustainable management of the river.

“ 

Urban sprawl like the transformation of natural areas into areas of intensive agriculture has impacts on water quality and removes wetlands by the thousands of hectares

,” explains the geomorphologist specializing in the study of the marine environment. and coastline.

However, the quality of the water has improved over the years, in particular thanks to the municipalities.

Urban purification systems are more efficient, industrial discharges less frequent than thirty years ago.

Agriculture still needs to make efforts, nuance Jean-Éric Turcotte: “

We have projects that aim to establish riparian strips, which would mean that in certain sectors, there could be fewer pesticides, less fertilizers, distributed in the streams that will feed the river, and thus prevent the formation of algae.

» Microplastic pollution, the increase in water temperature linked to global warming which reduces its oxygenation, the fight against invasive species,

Start from the heart

The key to resolving these issues lies in part in the relationship between Quebecers and their river.

“

There is not one but several attachments to the St. Lawrence River.

We do not have the same relationship to the river at all depending on whether we are in Rimouski, where the river-sea is 50 kilometers wide, than in Montreal, where the city is more present and the two banks are two kilometres

," emphasizes Jean-Éric Turcotte.

These emotional attachments to the river could initiate a societal change, pushing individuals to invest in its protection.

But Quebecers still need to know what is at stake.

In school programs, for example, the rivers studied in geography are generally foreign, like the Amazon, notes Geneviève Therriault, research professor at the University of Quebec in Rimouski, who has studied the relationship of 15-17 year olds to the river.

Highlighting the St. Lawrence in the programs would allow for a better understanding of their direct environment, and not give up an openness to the world.

“

Young people take pleasure in carrying out projects related to the river, because they discover the complexity of environmental or scientific issues, but also social, political and economic ones.

For example, they will link the passage of the container ship much more to what they find on their plate

», Details the researcher.  

Towards a sustainable management of resources?

Once this interest has been aroused, it is once again civil society that takes over to rehabilitate the river.

Initiatives are multiplying in terms of consumption.

“

Most Quebecers only eat a few products from the St. Lawrence, when there are a hundred!

“, is surprised Émilie Morin, researcher at the University of Quebec in Rimouski.

In 2018, 81% of products caught in the St. Lawrence were exported outside Quebec.

The group of scientists to which she belongs decided to move from research to action by launching the “Mange ton Saint-Laurent” initiative

.

The goal is to bring together actors from all sectors to promote local eating.

In this context, the first show for Quebec producers,

Fourchette Bleue

, celebrated its second edition a few weeks ago with a clear objective, to promote opportunities for the industry in Quebec.

The players in the field all say it: it's not just up to individuals to change things, it's also up to the provincial and federal governments to act.

The non-profit organization

Plan d'action Saint-Laurent,

for example, has been educating, informing and taking action to protect the river since 1988. A very fine initiative, recalls Jean-Éric Turcotte, but whose budget has stagnated since its creation.

In the same way, describes Émilie Morin, companies like Chasse-Marée, which specializes in the sale of products from the St. Lawrence to Quebecers, have struggled to obtain operating permits, because the system is export-oriented.

Giving legal status to the Saint-Laurent, as promoted by

a citizen collective

, would be another good way to defend it.

A 180° turn is therefore necessary at all levels, to achieve an objective: to make the St. Lawrence a sustainable river that is integrated into the territories.

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