A hundred signatories who are concerned that decisions concerning the energy transition are made in restricted circles are asking for a BAPE, an inquiry with public hearings, to be held on the energy future of Quebec.
In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister and to the four Ministers who are members of the Committee on the Economy and Energy Transition, stakeholders from environmental, community, union and even academic circles take François Legault at his word, who declared last November that he wanted “a real debate” on energy.
“It is indeed essential that decisions on this subject are not taken hastily, in small circles, in pieces and without an overview,” argue the signatories.
They wonder “about the nature of the debate envisaged” by the Prime Minister and insist that decisions concerning the energy future should not be taken in advance.
The debate on decarbonization must include “the scientific community, civil society in all its diversity, indigenous peoples and the most vulnerable populations, who risk being penalized by the transition” if these people are not duly consulted.
Decisions concerning the energy transition “will have major impacts on the regions potentially targeted for mining and renewable energy production projects, on the agricultural land and natural environments found there, on the courses of water and the ecosystems that make them viable territories, as well as the health and quality of life of the people who live there”.
Greenpeace spokesman Patrick Bonin, signatory of the letter, added that the energy future concerns as much the exploitation of minerals for the electrification of transport, hydroelectric projects, energy and food autonomy, consumption, buildings and land management.
“So it takes a global vision and it takes a type of itinerant consultation that will tour Quebec,” said the ecologist.
With the departure of the President and CEO of Hydro-Québec, Sophie Brochu, who announced her resignation a few weeks ago, “we no longer know where the government is going and we fear that have a small consultation led by Pierre Fitzgibbon, the super minister, when we need a much broader consultation, ”said the spokesperson for Greenpeace.
He recalled that in 2014, the government of Pauline Marois had established the Commission on energy issues, which had toured Quebec.
This commission was co-chaired by Normand Mousseau, professor in the physics department at the Université de Montréal, and Roger Lanoue, who worked for more than 20 years at Hydro-Québec.
The opposition parties are also calling for a debate
At the National Assembly, solidarity leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois described the request to hold a BAPE on the energy future as a “good idea”.
Hydro-Québec is “a national jewel” and “the collective tool that will be most useful to us in the energy transition. It can’t become Pierre Fitzgibbon’s personal toy. We must collectively define the orientations of Hydro-Québec, “said the MP on Tuesday morning.
The departure announced last week of the executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Hydro-Québec, Éric Filion, a few weeks after the resignation of Sophie Brochu, worries the opposition parties and certain members of civil society.
The opposition parties see the departures of the two leaders as a sign that the government’s vision differs from that of the state-owned company regarding the energy transition.
Recently, the Leader of the Opposition, the Liberal Marc Tanguay, proposed launching a national consultation on the future of energy in Quebec.
This traveling commission would focus on the current and future needs of Quebec, as well as the investments necessary to achieve the energy transition and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.