Already Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon was given responsibility for Energy and, as such, for Hydro-Québec, a government corporation that is of immense importance to Quebec nation. However, the minister expressed last week his clear preference for private enterprise. “Me, personally, I think the private is better than the state,” he said bluntly.
Fortunately, Jean Lesage, René Lévesque and the senior civil servants who implemented the nationalization of the electricity companies in the 1960s did not think like him.
The inefficiency of this short sliver of private power grids at the time was notorious, as were the monopolistic abuses indulged in by these power companies owned by proud English-Canadian or American capitalists. Pierre Fitzgibbon maintains that the private sector is “more efficient than the state”. This is a generalization that does not apply to Hydro-Quebec, although this flagship has flaws and is not a monster of agility. Overall, she has nothing to be ashamed of her performance. And if it is necessary to quote an example, the partial privatization of the electricity distributor of Ontario, Hydro One, was not the panacea. Unless you believe that subsidizing electricity rates with billions like the Ontario government is doing is a sensible policy.
The private would be more efficient than the public? It depends. A state corporation often pursues social objectives that private enterprise ignores. And if this efficiency only serves to fatten foreign shareholders from our territory and our natural resources, it is doubtful that this is a great step forward for our people.
While Pierre Fitzgibbon is rolling out the red carpet to private interests he may know by their nickname, the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, has buried the idea of privatizing the Société des alcools du Québec, as the Caquiste activists wanted. gathered in congress. The private sector may be more efficient—it’s a presumption—but a state corporation responsible for the sale of alcohol has advantages, particularly in terms of public health and territorial coverage.
In an interview with Mario Dumont, the new CEO of Hydro-Québec, Michael Sabia, rejected out of hand the idea of privatizing all or part of Hydro-Québec. Such a hypothesis even made him laugh, it seemed so absurd to him. However, he did not rule out the idea of the private sector being called upon to supply electricity to Hydro-Québec. This is already the case, whether with wind power or with small hydropower plants of less than 50 MW.
In the case of these small power stations, there would undoubtedly be some electricity to be drawn from existing dams which are the property of the Quebec State or municipalities; the private sector could participate in their improvement. But if it is a question of proposing to build new small power stations and thus artificialize natural sites, caution is in order. We cannot let private companies, associated with local interests, decide alone on the use of public lands. The state has reasons, starting with the common good, that the capitalists, however efficient they appear, do not know.