Hundreds of protesters gathered Dec. 13 in Sept-Îles to protest uranium exploration in Quebec. (Fanny Lévesque/Le Soleil/Canadian Press)

The Quebec government has a duty to put a stop to plans for uranium exploration in the Sept-Îles region because of the overwhelming opposition of residents, the city’s mayor, Serge Lévesque, said Tuesday.

Lévesque was reacting to the release of a poll ordered by municipal officials last month after two dozen local doctors threatened to resign if B.C.-based Terra Ventures Inc. goes ahead with planned drilling in the area.

The doctors at the Sept-Îles Hospital said uranium exploration in the area would pose a threat to public health.

In addition to the doctors’ opposition to the plan, Lévesque said there was growing resistance in the community.

"We could hear people expressing themselves quite clearly," Lévesque said. "There were two or three … demonstrations against it and there were more and more people joining in. The momentum was there, and the action by the doctors added to it."

According to the poll, 91 per cent of the 1002 Sept-Îles residents queried about the question of uranium exploration said they were opposed to the idea.

Of those opposed to the project, 79 per cent said they were concerned about the negative impact on health and the dangers linked to radioactivity.

Thirty-three per cent said they were worried about negative effects on the environment, while 17 per cent said they were concerned about the impact on water. Six per cent were concerned about the effect on the air quality.

Quebec’s Junior Natural Resources Minister Serge Simard has said no uranium mining project in the region would be approved without local support.

Lévesque said he hopes Simard will stand by his word.

"I think he has the power to stop the project right now," Lévesque said.

The Léger Marketing poll was conducted between Dec. 8 and 15, and has a margin of error of 3.1 per cent 19 times out of 20.