Nails, metal bars inserted into trees, company says
by Stéphane Blais, January 23, 2024
Swedish manufacturer Northvolt says the site of its future electric vehicle battery plant near Montreal was sabotaged after nails were driven into trees that are set to be cut down.
Northvolt spokesperson Emmanuelle Rouillard-Moreau says nails or metal bars were inserted into about 100 trees Monday night at its 170-hectare site, which straddles the communities of McMasterville and Saint-Basile-le-Grand, on the South Shore.
The company said in an email that such tactics can carry “significant risks for the safety of workers and surrounding communities.”
An anonymous group claimed responsibility on an anarchist website, saying the motive for its “sabotage” was to protest a megaproject it says will destroy woods and wetlands and perpetuate car culture.
