LNG Terminal Threatens Status of World Heritage Site

"Quebec City's status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site may be put in jeopardy by the construction of the province's first liquefied natural gas terminal, a massive industrial complex on the St. Lawrence River, just 10 kilometres downstream from the historic city.

A committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which will be meeting in Quebec City next week, has been asked by opponents of the Rabaska project to examine whether the Canadian and Quebec governments violated their commitment to protect the city as a world heritage site when it approved the LNG terminal, slated to be built in 2010.

Throughout the four-year battle to stop the project, citizens underscored the risks in allowing super tankers carrying liquefied natural gas to enter a narrow channel of the St. Lawrence River just three kilometres across from Iles d'Orléans. With its breathtaking view of the river, the island has been officially recognized as a provincial heritage site."