(Quebec) The leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, is demanding that the person who will succeed Sophie Brochu as head of Hydro-Québec obtain the support of at least two of the opposition parties in The national assembly.
The PQ leader maintains that the government of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) must also ensure that the appointment is apolitical and that it takes place after an audience granted to each party with the candidate.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon wants to ensure that Hydro-Québec’s independence is maintained. He pointed out that the Crown corporation is highly strategic in Quebec and that it is important that it maintain a healthy distance from the political world.
In a press release, the leader of the Parti Québécois specifies that the support of the appointment by at least two opposition parties “is the minimum, given the importance of the position and given the changes in terms of orientation and governance that the government wants to bring”.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon
For the opposition to support a candidacy, it is necessary, he adds, that each party has a hearing with the person selected in order to know his strategic vision.
He recalls that the issues related to hydroelectricity in Quebec are crucial for the achievement of objectives in the fight against climate change and economic development.
The PQ leader wonders if Prime Minister François Legault and his Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, are looking for someone who will comply with their wishes or if they will accept someone who will have the courage to say no to them, when necessary.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who thanks Sophie Brochu in his press release for her contribution, says he hopes that the person who will succeed her will be chosen on the merit of skills and not on that of the interests of the CAQ.
Sophie Brochu announced last Tuesday that she will leave her post on April 11, about two years before the end of her mandate.