Evidence of meeting #14 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was project.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Angelo Iacono
Thank you, Mrs. Farrell.
Thank you, Mr. Bexte.
Mr. St‑Pierre, you have the floor for five minutes.
November 17th, 2025 / 12:10 p.m.
Liberal
Eric St-Pierre Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
Good afternoon.
My question is for the officials from the Port of Montreal or the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.
You provided details of the compensation plan for the copper redhorse. I gather that approximately three hectares of fish habitat would be created to compensate for the loss of habitat at Île aux Bœufs and Îles‑de‑Boucherville.
Will this compensation plan increase or maintain the copper redhorse population?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Montreal Port Authority
Excellent question. It leads us to take a closer look at the life of this fish.
At Île aux Bœufs, we'll create 3.29 hectares of fish habitat. The area will double after six years to around 6.2 hectares. In nearly 15 years, it will have quadrupled to 12.6 hectares. You must understand that the St. Lawrence River has 30,000 hectares of fish foraging habitat.
Will the situation of the copper redhorse improve?
In total, the Port of Montreal will invest $17 million in this species at risk before the Contrecœur terminal opens in 2030. No one has ever invested that much money in this fish.
You need to understand that this fish lives for around 35 years. It's born in the Chambly basin of the Richelieu River, which doesn't have any speed measures. You must know that Quebec doesn't have any universal speed measures for the protection of its banks.
I don't know whether you're familiar with the Richelieu River. The copper redhorse obviously spawns close to the banks. It's born there and it lives there for two years. After two years, it feeds in the St. Lawrence River. When the little snails are no longer on the blades of grass, they return to the Richelieu River. They don't reproduce until they're 10 years old.
The foraging habitat for this fish will increase to around 12 hectares. However, for the past 20 years, this fish has been considered a species at risk. Could we all work together, from its birth to its growth and throughout its life, to preserve it?
Liberal
Eric St-Pierre Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
I have a follow‑up question for you.
Has this compensation plan been reviewed or validated by third parties, and if so, which ones?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Montreal Port Authority
I'll give the floor to Ms. Loubier, who can tell you about this.
Senior Manager, Contrecoeur Environment, Montreal Port Authority
We already talked about the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, or DFO. The Quebec department of the environment, climate change, wildlife and parks, or MELCCFP, and Environment Canada are also involved.
DFO sought expert advice from the Institut national de la recherche scientifique, or INRS, and Public Services and Procurement Canada, or PSPC.
Liberal
Senior Manager, Contrecoeur Environment, Montreal Port Authority
In terms of expert advice, the engineers asked many questions about the work. The INRS was more concerned about the grass‑beds. Environment Canada was involved because it owns Île aux Bœufs. Obviously, there were experts from DFO, including fish experts. The MELCCFP was also involved in the project, along with fish experts.
Liberal
Eric St-Pierre Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
I'm the member of Parliament for Honoré‑Mercier, which includes Anjou and Rivière‑des‑Prairies. The copper redhorse lives in the Rivières‑des‑Prairies. Rivières‑des‑Prairies even has a Parc du Chevalier‑Cuivré.
Could you speak about the impact of the Contrecœur project in my constituency, particularly in Rivière‑des‑Prairies?
Chief of Staff and Vice-President, Communications and External Affairs, Montreal Port Authority
There won't be any impact. However, there will be benefits.
It should be noted that other non‑port projects will involve work in the copper redhorse foraging habitat and in the development of grass‑beds. Given the size of the investment, the knowledge gained could be used to support certain projects in the east end of Montreal. These projects are currently on hold because no solution has yet been found for the copper redhorse.
Liberal
Eric St-Pierre Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
I have one last question.
You said that you consulted with the first nations, particularly in Kahnawake. Is the nation in Kahnawake or are other first nations currently concerned about the copper redhorse population affected by this project?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Montreal Port Authority
We consulted with all the first nations, including in Kahnawake.
Of course, over the past 10 years, the first nations members have asked questions and raised concerns. Our Port of Montreal teams made sure to answer all the questions and record all the concerns. We worked with them to ensure that they were satisfied with our approach.
Liberal
Bloc
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to talk about the alternate site plans for the compensation work.
When you applied for your permit, you submitted assessments of other possible sites. When did you submit them? Can you submit all the documents required to obtain compensation permits to the committee?
Senior Manager, Contrecoeur Environment, Montreal Port Authority
The first question concerned the four sites—
Bloc
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
No. The Species at Risk Act requires the assessment of alternate sites in order to obtain a permit. You said that you submitted alternate sites to Fisheries and Oceans Canada in order to obtain your permit. This is part of your application.
Bloc
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
Can you send the committee this permit application, including the presentation of these sites?
Bloc
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
Okay.
Section 86 of the Impact Assessment Act states that you must indicate your intention, issue a notice and invite the public to a consultation.
If no notification or alert is sent out, how is the public invited to participate in a consultation? Do you consider a post on a website with I don't know how many thousands of pages and that no one knows about an invitation? How were people invited to participate in a consultation?
Vice-President, Strategic Policy and Programs, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada
The requirement in section 86 is that it be posted on the registry. The notification is posted, and it invites public comment. If notices are posted in a certain way under the registry, there is a notification triggered. That's a service that we've only—
Bloc
Vice-President, Strategic Policy and Programs, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada
If notifications are displayed in a certain section of our website—
Bloc
Patrick Bonin Bloc Repentigny, QC
In this case, I understand that there was no notification.
How do you consider that the public was invited? How does the Port of Montreal consider that the public was invited if no one was aware of it and if the invitation is on a 10,000-page website?