From lithium to armaments, Quebec becomes U.S. imperial outpost

Thousands of protesters spilled into the streets of Montreal calling on the Canadian government to apply pressure on Israel to stop its military offensive in Gaza. The sign reads: 'Stop the Massacre.' | Peter McCabe / The Canadian Press via AP

MONTREAL—NATO brings together the majority of European countries, as well as Canada and the United States. Although Quebec, as a Canadian province, does not have its own army and is not directly involved in the conflicts fomented by this organization, its role in the military and economic support of NATO-allied regimes has grown considerably in recent years.

As the world moves dangerously closer to a globalized conflict, we need to ask how Quebec fits into the Western imperialist system, and how we can counter its growing involvement in the politics of tension orchestrated by this bloc?

Resource development for the U.S. military

Contemporary imperialism is intimately linked to the economic development of Western countries. The growth of monopolies, the domination of financial capital, the expansion of multinationals, and the race to plunder natural resources all lead to control of world markets. This is particularly true for Quebec, whose economy, like that of the rest of Canada, is tightly controlled by its powerful neighbor to the south.

In recent years, for example, the United States has made the electric battery industry a top priority in order to catch up with China, the world champion in this field. Quebec abounds in minerals that are indispensable to the manufacture of electric batteries: spodumene (lithium), graphite, ilmenite (titanium), apatite (phosphate), cobalt (a by-product of nickel mining), nickel, and iron.

So, it’s only natural that Quebec’s right-wing François Legault government has made the development of this industry a top priority, turning the province into an outpost in the U.S.’ Cold War against China.

U.S. mining investment has already arrived in Quebec. Recently, the Canadian federal government and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced a multi-million-dollar investment to develop a graphite mine project in the Papineau municipality in the Outaouais region, much to the chagrin of local residents.

Claude Bouffard, coordinator of the Comité citoyen d’opposition au projet minier La Loutre (Citizen’s Committee Opposing the La Loutre Mining Project), stated: “Our resources are now going to be used for the needs of the U.S. military and will become involved in the Cold War between China and the United States. This is no longer the energy transition and electrification of transportation that we were talking about.”

Robert P. Sanders, U.S. Consul General in Montreal, confirmed to Le Journal de Montréal last June that this investment is just the beginning, and that more can be expected in the near future.

Quebec munitions for NATO

But exporting natural resources no longer seems to be enough for the federal and provincial governments. They now wish to make Quebec a direct player in the escalation of conflicts fomented or encouraged by the West, notably through the arms industry.

For over two years, the Quebec facilities of U.S.-based multinational General Dynamics have been producing some of the munitions that NATO is sending to Ukraine, contributing directly to the prolongation of conflicts in Ukraine and Russia. What’s more, the corporation is planning a significant expansion of its Salaberry-de-Valleyfield plant to boost stocks of shells, a weapon that has proven crucial in the war in Ukraine.

Weapons manufactured by General Dynamics are also destined for export to Israel. Recently, it was revealed that General Dynamics sites in Quebec will be shipping shells to Israel at the request of the U.S. government. In August, the Biden administration proposed that the U.S. Congress approve the sale of 50,000 rounds of ammunition to Israel, with the majority of these mortar shells being manufactured in Quebec.

Yet in March, the Canadian House of Commons passed a motion to halt lethal weapons exports to Israel. Did the U.S. not get wind of this decision? Or do U.S. interests take precedence over Parliament?

Montreal, city of peace against NATO

From Nov. 22 to 25, the 70th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly will take place in Montreal. The setting of Montreal is by no means insignificant, as Quebec seems to be becoming a key player in the Western imperialist system under the hegemony of the United States and its armed wing, NATO.

Yet Quebec, and particularly the Montreal metropolis, has always been at the forefront of the peace movement in Canada—from opposition to Star Wars, to demonstrations against the war in Iraq, to those currently pounding the pavement against genocide in Palestine.

In keeping with this tradition, the Mouvement québécois pour la paix (MQP, Quebec Movement for Peace) is committed to organizing a series of rallies to denounce the Atlantic Alliance and to strongly oppose the direction the province has taken in recent years.

Now more than ever, Montreal must become a city of peace.

This article originally appeared in Clarté, publication of the Parti communiste du Québec.

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CONTRIBUTOR

Jad Kabbanji

Jad Kabbanji is president of the Mouvement québécois pour la paix.