Our energy future is so simple

I sometimes wonder why I get angry.

Why do I get carried away too often, my bubble, by tweaking my brain to think about the feasibility of things, entangled in the details.

It prevents dreaming, this ugly tendency. That’s how you develop a reputation as a “boring” guy, seeing problems where there aren’t any.

Like wincing at the objective of increasing Hydro-Québec’s production capacity by 50%.

Mr. Legault, however, repeated it to us during the election campaign: we will build new dams.

Obviously, sad spirit as I am, I dared to think that if it were so easy to build big booms, it would be known, and that here, like the elephant, the government was sleeping and dreaming standing up.

I finally assumed that I was clueless on the matter.

Hence the good news: the Government of Quebec has decided to hold a public consultation on our energy future, to explain its plan to us. All in good time !

Seriously, that’s what had to be done, and well done!

I hope, however, that I am not being naive, that this exercise will not only be a political strategy. Like the crocodile, we will have to sleep with one eye open.

Because the last few weeks have been worrying in this case.

Starting with the designation of Pierre Fitzgibbon as master after God, to whom we added the political management of our crown jewel, hydroelectricity.

But being what he is, Fitz did not disappoint. He got another one in the slipper when he left. Bang! By telling all of Quebec that since he knew what Hydro had to do, he would explain to Madame Brochu how it works!

In my personal relationships, I would have walked out for a lot less.

And that’s why Fitz isn’t clear of the knots in Sophie Brochu’s departure. One tends to believe, as in hockey, in a high stick followed by a cross-check.

But he doesn’t care, the boss granted him permanent immunity.

However, in democracy as in business, the government, or the sole shareholder, takes precedence over its subsidiaries.

Still, I appreciate Fitz’s economic activism.

Of course, it would be easier to like him if he understood that public service requires delicacy over ethical appearance. Let’s hope he gets it one day, that one.

And so, the public consultation should allow Quebecers to understand the government’s game plan.

Incidentally, we should understand why it would pay to grant preferential electricity prices to certain companies.

Francis Vailles^⁠1very aptly, recently questioned the profitability of the discount rates allowed to aluminum smelters in Quebec.

In response to the doubts raised by Mr. Vailles and others, the Prime Minister considered “unfair” the treatment of his priorities. State of mind.

Economics is also a science, although inexact, and the means to understand its benefits exist.

So, in this case, to convert the heretic, prayers and devotion weigh less than facts and figures.

So, if it is more profitable to develop our economy by using electricity tariffs than to sell kilowatts to the Americans, that is calculated, and that we are explained.

And what about energy saving?

By the way, I want to contribute, and I’m now taking cold showers. I got used to it during my career…

And where will the new dams be built, at what cost and in what decade will they be operational? And what about the indigenous nations?

And the adequacy over time between the new production capacity to come and the new needs of the industrial projects that the Minister says he has on his desk, which we understand in the shorter term.

We would also like to judge the vision developed by Mr.^me Brochu, compare it to that of the government. There would be a discrepancy…

And I presume that we will go beyond the oral tradition. That we will be presented with a concrete plan for achieving a carbon-free Quebec by 2050.

Fitz firmly believes that the “drums” sector should be developed, that it goes through that. Very well, we want to believe it. But as we are not the only ones in the world to want it, we should explain where we will be in this mad race.

How many of us pull on the same steak?

Because it is he and the government who will choose the projects. If they’re wrong, we’ll live a long time with the damage.

And how much will this sector cost us in subsidies to companies, in electricity discounts, in relation to profits?

For a real vertical integration of this sector, we will have to extract material from the subsoil, such as graphite and lithium. Accordingly, what is the orderly plan for mining development?

Finally, is it more enlightened to invest so much in the manufacturing industry, compared to the same amount in technological innovation, where the jobs are also very paying?

Where does Quebec’s economic future lie?

And how many other questions.

In short, Quebec needs a clear vision. That’s also the economy, a matter of vision that includes accounting. MM. Lévesque and Bourassa proved it long ago when it comes to energy.

It must also take into account our major societal choices, and give hope to young people, as long as they are there.

Michel C. Auger^⁠2 wrote this: “Mr. Legault often repeats that he is obsessed with creating wealth. But the means of creating this wealth are no longer the same as 50 years ago. Except that, when the CAQ government got on the economic development train, MM. Legault and Fitzgibbon got off at the “Baie-James” station. And they are still there…”

Many of us share this concern.

But I promise to inhabit the government bubble, to remain responsive during the exercise.