It’s not normal. Not normal that the resignation of the president of Hydro-Quebec Sophie Brochu sows such concern for the future of the energy transition of Quebec.
It is not normal that we are now afraid, rightly or wrongly, that a minister is using our precious electricity to attract businesses rather than to decarbonize Quebec.
It is not normal that these crucial questions for the future of the province rest on the personality and the vision of a few individuals.
The concerns we are currently seeing reveal a glaring lack: the absence of a plan.
A clear, solid and apolitical plan that would get us to our climate goals. A plan developed in collaboration with experts.
A plan that we would be sure will stay on track when the head of a state-owned company leaves her post, however competent and respected she may be. A plan that countries like the UK have established and successfully follow.
Since coming to power, the Legault government has not improved climate governance.
He abolished Energy Transition Quebec, a Crown corporation which, as its name suggests, could have led Quebec’s energy transition if it had been given the mandate and the resources to do so.
He abolished the Green Fund’s management board, which took a critical look at spending on greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction.
If the Ministry of the Environment (or that of Energy) had repatriated these responsibilities to take the bull by the horns itself, we would applaud.
We know, unfortunately, that this is not the case.
The Legault government’s Plan for a Green Economy is essentially a list of measures that are not tied to climate objectives. The proof: this plan only allows us to achieve half of our reduction targets.
Faced with this void, we come to believe that Hydro-Québec’s strategic plan is the document on which Quebec’s decarbonization must be based. We are in complete confusion here.
Hydro-Québec’s mandate is to produce, transport and distribute electricity to Quebecers. Yes, this electricity is an essential instrument of transition.
But it is not up to Hydro-Quebec to plan the decarbonization of Quebec. It is not Hydro-Quebec that will decide that it is necessary to capture the gases escaping from all the dumps in Quebec. It is not she who will ensure that land use planning is compatible with our climate objectives. It is not she who will discourage the use of gas-guzzling vehicles on our roads through eco-fiscal measures.
It is not even Hydro-Québec that will advocate the electrification of buildings and the gradual elimination of natural gas to heat them, because that complicates its management of the winter peak and the government corporation has no interest to shoot herself in the foot.
These measures, which have never been taken, should be taken at a higher level, by people who are looking at the overall situation.
Faced with a government that favored other uses for our electricity, Sophie Brochu has become the great defender of the energy transition. She wants our energy to serve this cause first and foremost. This honors him and his commitment should be commended.
But his involvement is a symptom of the vacuum that reigns and of the fact that no coherent vision carries this objective.
Sophie Brochu announced her resignation, saying she had confidence in the “committee on the economy and energy transition” created by François Legault to reconcile the different visions of the role of Hydro-Québec. There sit, in addition to the boss of Hydro-Quebec, François Legault and four of his ministers.
We are less optimistic than her. This committee was created in the improvisation to calm the grievances of Mr.me Leaflet.
Despite its pompous name, don’t count on it to deliver a real energy transition plan. This committee is in no way a response to the problems of climate governance in Quebec.
It was also necessary to hear François Legault, on Wednesday, affirm that Quebec’s electricity must be used to catch up with our wealth gap with Ontario to revive certain fears.
When politicians advocate the use of our electricity to massively produce green hydrogen (Dominique Anglade) or to disproportionately promote the attraction of businesses (Pierre Fitzgibbon), the experts tear their hair out.
Sophie Brochu was a bulwark against these excesses, but she could not be the only one.
His departure shows us the urgency of erecting others.