In politics, the path taken sometimes has more important consequences than reaching the destination itself.
Easy example. A city can, alone and quickly, build a superb park.
On the other hand, if it takes the time to consult citizens on access on foot and by bike, on the game modules to be installed there, on future landscaping, on the name of the park… the citizens will have a park that looks like them that best meets their needs. They will be proud of it, they will use it, maintain it and protect it from vandals.
The city will not only have built a park, it will also have mobilized a community and consolidated its sense of belonging.
Last Wednesday, 101 Quebec organizations asked Minister Fitzgibbon to broaden the planned consultations on Quebec’s energy future.
Neither Mr. Legault nor Mr. Fitzgibbon are very fond of major consultations. The development of an ambitious Quebec energy policy is one of the occasions when they should overcome their dislike for this kind of exercise.
Indeed, the mandate given by the Prime Minister is ambitious: that Quebec become the first carbon-neutral state in North America.1. Nothing less. The minister responsible will need the help of all Quebecers.
A traditional consultation would certainly produce a detailed shopping list, but not a national vision with clear priorities and it will certainly not lead to real national mobilization. If Quebec wants to make a real environmental shift, both will be necessary.
The choices we will have to make regarding our energy future do not only concern hydroelectric projects, but also our consumption habits, our means of transport, the efficiency and energy supply of buildings, the exploitation of minerals, in particular for electrification of transportation, land management, protection of wetlands, waterways, agricultural land… and coexistence with the communities affected by our collective choices, in particular the Aboriginal peoples. There will be outcry, mobilization against certain choices, “yes but that”, “yes but me”, etc.
Faced with such complexity, to achieve rapid results, the government will need allies. The chosen process will therefore have to settle a certain number of questions, remove a few obstacles, establish common observations, begin to have the least popular measures accepted and, more importantly, allow the formation of alliances on certain subjects. Passing too quickly on the collective reflection will compromise its implementation.
If I rely on what many groups are proposing, the ideal process would begin with the Estates General, therefore a tour of Quebec to take stock of the issues that concern Quebecers.
The government would transform the consultation report into a white paper, that is to say the statement of its intentions. This white paper would then be the subject of a generic BAPE, ie a consultation of the population coupled with scientific opinions on the actions envisaged. It is too long ? The government only has to determine the deadlines… and nothing would prevent it from starting to act along the way, according to the first consensus that will emerge.
Exercises like these serve to strengthen the bonds between us, to move us away from positions of principle to bring us closer to concrete solutions and thus find compromises. We are far from chatting, this type of exercise builds the future.
In 1977, to tackle the serious problem of conflicting labor relations that afflicted Quebec, René Lévesque organized the Pointe-au-Pic summit. For the first time, bosses, unions, politicians and civil society were talking directly. A certain model of consultation was born.
In 1996, two summits made it possible to reach a consensus on the importance of achieving a zero deficit and on the pace to be maintained to achieve this, but also on the need to set up CPEs, automatic , the implementation of pay equity and the launch of the social economy project. The Quebec consultation model, unique in North America, has yielded many fruits. The government should learn from the experience gained.
Quebec will not easily become the first carbon neutral state in North America.
It will be hard. It will take courageous collective decisions. A minister, even a super minister, will not succeed alone: we will need everyone’s efforts. Hence the importance of the process.
A vast exercise of consultation and participation, associated with a serious recourse to science, could favor the adhesion of the population and generate enthusiasm. Above all, it could provide the necessary impetus for the implementation of an ambitious energy policy which might resemble, as Mr. Legault wishes, a real social project.