The Quebec Superior Court judge David R. Collier today, Friday, rejected the request for a preliminary temporary injunction against Northvolt. Thus, the company will be able to resume tree cutting operations on its lands.

The request was submitted by the Quebec Environmental Law Center and three citizens.

"If there is a public interest in protecting the environment, there is also a public interest in protecting the legal certainty of activities authorized by the general administration," the judge wrote in his decision.

CQDE’s lawyers said that a few months ago, the destruction of wetlands in the same location as part of another project was rejected, and ministry experts pointed at that time to the importance of these environments for the region and biodiversity.

However, according to Judge Collier, it is important to emphasize that the minister exercises his discretionary authority on a case-by-case basis, according to each proposed project, and the law does not indicate that the minister, by refusing to issue a permit for a specific site, binds his discretionary authority for the future on that same site.

The judge confirmed that the main reason that led to the project’s rejection in March 2023 was the significant irreparable damage caused to the wetlands which form a potential habitat for the nesting of less hardy and endangered bird species. However, Northvolt’s project will not encroach on the wetlands that serve as potential nesting habitats for animals.

Also, according to the plaintiff, the Ministry of the Environment allowed Northvolt to begin work at the future factory site in Monteregie without knowing the specific impact on biodiversity and without Northvolt submitting a detailed compensation plan.

It was also confirmed that the city of Saint-Basile-le-Grand issued a tree-cutting permit to Northvolt based on an unreasonable interpretation of the temporary control system (RCI) of the Montreal urban community regarding wetlands.

"But the burden on the plaintiffs is heavy. However, the court finds that the plaintiffs failed to bear this heavy burden and failed to establish a clear right that the actions taken by the minister and the municipality were outwardly unreasonable. For this reason, their request for a temporary injunction will be denied," as we can read in the judge’s decision.