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INREST and the Port of Sept-Îles unveil the Centre for Industrial Port Expertise

Sept-Îles, July 17, 2020 – It is with great enthusiasm that Institut nordique de recherche en environnement et en santé au travail (INREST) and the Port of Sept-Îles announce today the inauguration of the first research centre on industrial port ecosystems, the Centre for Industrial Port Expertise (CEIP), a division of INREST.

This innovative initiative, which will support the research activities of the environmental observatory of the Bay of Sept-Îles, was made possible by a major Quebec government grant ($351,000) through the Blue Fund program, set up to support initiatives in line with the objectives of the Quebec Maritime Strategy (http://www. fil-information.gouv.qc.ca). This project was also the result of the long-term financial support provided by big industry partners, the city, and the Port of Sept-Îles, demonstrating the leadership and regional cooperation that have gone into the CEIP project.

We would like to especially thank CEIP members on the North Shore: IOC/Rio Tinto, Aluminerie Alouette, Quebec Iron Ore, the City of Sept-Îles, and Développement économique Sept-Îles.

The Port of Sept-Îles is also pleased to announce a grant of $250,000 over five years to help INREST develop CEIP.

CEIP’s mission is to offer services and scientific expertise on the environment and occupational health. Experts and researchers in a variety of fields provide centralized R&D services and technical support adapted to the specific environmental, management, and operational challenges of industrial port areas to managers in the North Shore region and other maritime regions of Quebec, Canada, and abroad.

Our industrial port community’s commitment to the only environmental monitoring observatory on the St. Lawrence sets us apart on the national scene,” said Pierre D. Gagnon, President and CEO of the Port of Sept-Îles. “This unique initiative has many other benefits, including the creation of local scientific expertise that will help the region attract and retain talent as well as the broad-ranging impacts of the research projects and numerous future partnerships.”

CEIP conducts collaborative research projects to meet the specific needs of its members and partners. A research fund, administered by an executive committee made up of CEIP members and partners, supports the centre’s flagship project, namely the implementation of the Enviro-Actions management model developed by INREST. This innovative model comprises five steps, including the establishment of environmental observatories in industrial port areas along the St. Lawrence and the instrumentalization and collection of near-real-time data and satellite images.

CEIP supplies project proponents with objective scientific data that helps promote the social acceptability of their projects. The model also provides invaluable information for environmental impact studies and reduces the time and cost of collecting baseline data.

The community has invested significant amounts of money in research to carry out the first three steps in the “Enviro-Actions” management model, i.e. the creation of an environmental observatory,” said Julie Carrière, Executive Director of INREST and CEIP. This constantly updated portrait of the Baie de Sept-Îles makes the port area a key research site in Quebec and across Canada. The next step will be the instrumentalization of this study area which will allow CEIP to develop protocols and methodologies based on a standardized concept and to export the expertise of CEIP’s team and collaborators to other industrial and port areas in Quebec and across Canada.

CEIP will also help meet the commitments of the recently created Université Laval research chair on coastal ecosystems and industrial, maritime, and port activities, of which INREST and the Port of Sept-Îles are founding members.

About INREST and CEIP

The Northern Institute for Research in Environment and Occupational Health and Safety (INREST) is a nonprofit organization investigating environmental and occupational health issues. INREST is internationally recognized for setting up the Centre for Industrial Port Expertise and Quebec’s biggest environmental observatory in an industrial port area for the purpose of conserving marine ecosystems.

The Centre for Industrial Port Expertise (CEIP), a division of INREST, in partnership with a number of universities and research centres, is committed to implementing the Enviro-Actions management model developed by INREST. The model includes the installation of environmental observatories in all industrial port areas along the St. Lawrence and the instrumentalization and collection of near-real-time data and satellite images. This will provide project proponents with objective, socially acceptable scientific data. The near-real-time data will help speed up the process of applying for environmental permits and make it more cost effective.

Any company, industry, government body, municipality, Indigenous community, port authority, or port can become a member of CEIP.

About the Port of Sept-Îles

The Port of Sept- Îles is North America’s largest ore-handling port, equipped with a range of state-of-the-art facilities. The projected volume for 2020 is just under 35 million tonnes. Its marine ecosystem observatory makes it a pioneer on the St. Lawrence system and shows how sustainability is firmly anchored in the Port’s values and actions.

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Sources :

INREST

Julie Carrière
Executive Director
Tel: 418-968-4801, ext. 5720
Email: julie@inrest.ca

Port of Sept-Îles

Pierre D. Gagnon
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: 418-968-1231