Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard says he has not given any orders to put the kibosh on plans for exploratory oil and gas drilling on Anticosti Island.
Couillard is insisting his government, which is a partner in the project, is fulfilling all its contractual obligations.
Oil and gas company Petrolia Inc. is in court in Montreal today seeking an injunction to force the government and a private firm to invest in the drilling.
Petrolia and Corridor Resources yielded their exploration permits for Anticosti Island in 2014 in exchange for the investment. That deal occurred under the previous Parti Quebecois government.
The exploratory work on three wells is scheduled to begin this summer and is aimed at determining Anticosti’s hydrocarbon potential in terms of quality and volume.
Petrolia is arguing Couillard has given orders for the project not to go ahead — an allegation he denied as he continued a trade mission in Munich today.
"That’s false, but again the courts will decide and we have respected the contract to the letter," he said.
Since attending an international climate conference in Paris last December, Couillard has increasingly distanced himself from the project in eastern Quebec.
He has repeatedly stated the deal was reached when the PQ was in power, has expressed concerns about environmental risks and has questioned the project’s economic viability.
"I’m not the promoter of the project and I said as such in Paris," he said. "My hands are tied."
The Quebec Environment Department gave the green light in June for the work to proceed. It requires fracking and the use of 30 million litres of water from waterways, including rivers that are home to salmon.
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