Provincial political parties are open to holding training for MPs specifically on the climate crisis and its impacts in Quebec, noted The duty. But for the moment, it is impossible to know if this would be compulsory for the 125 elected officials who will sit in the National Assembly and who will decide on the success or failure of the province’s climate plan.
Scientific reports on climate change and their impacts are most often technical and arid. The recent reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) testify to this. The full versions have thousands of pages, which can be quite complex to read.
However, a better understanding of the causes and consequences of the climate crisis will be essential for elected officials who will be called upon to make the necessary decisions to reduce Quebec’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to adapt to the impacts of global warming.
In this context, 20 Quebec scientists have sent to the President of the National Assembly a training “proposal” relating specifically to this file for all the MNAs who will sit in Quebec for the next four years.
“It is part of our mandate, as researchers, to communicate our findings to society. It would therefore be very relevant to contribute to the training of elected officials, who will make decisions that will have impacts for the whole of society”, explains to the To have to one of the signatories of this correspondence, Alejandro Di Luca, professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at UQAM, climatologist and contributor to the IPCC. According to him, scientific popularization would be necessary to better guide decisions in the energy field in Quebec over the next few years, but also in terms of transportation and adaptation.
“The proposed training would first deal with the causes and consequences of climate change, with particular emphasis on Quebec. The second part of the training would address the mitigation and adaptation measures to climate change available to Quebec society. Aware that elected officials come from very diverse backgrounds, very significant efforts will be made to develop training that can be accessible to all”, explain the scientists in a letter published in The duty.
The National Assembly says it has received the proposal made by the researchers. However, it is not possible to “confirm” the organization of the training, since the current President of the Assembly, François Paradis, will have to step down shortly. He cannot therefore commit himself in the name of his successor. The National Assembly nevertheless indicates that this idea “is indeed part of the objectives sought” by the training activities that will be offered over the next few months to “new parliamentarians”.
Could training on climate reality be mandatory for all MPs? “This decision will be up to the parliamentarians of the 43e legislature. One of the ways to make training mandatory is to pass a motion in the House,” argues the communications department, in a written response to the To have to.
The parties agree
The four parties that elected deputies on October 3 are in favor of the idea of specific training on the climate, but none wanted to formally commit to making attendance compulsory.
The outgoing Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, said he was open to the exercise in a Twitter post. “The Prime Minister is committed to working in collaboration with the other parties, particularly on the environmental issue. These are discussions that will have to be held after the formation of the new Council of Ministers, ”added his cabinet, by email.
“The invitation will be shared with all the elected members of our caucus,” argued the Liberal Party of Quebec. “We will participate in the training,” replied the Parti Québécois. “We are completely open to mandatory training being given to elected officials on climate change. We will have to sit down with all the parties to determine how to conduct this exercise in the best way,” added Québec solidaire.
The four parties represented in Quebec had also sent representatives to a presentation of the most recent IPCC reports organized last June at the restaurant Le Parlementaire, located in Parliament. According to our information, about thirty deputies (less than 25% of elected officials) participated in the event, but it was not possible to obtain the precise list of elected officials present at the National Assembly. “This training took place in a private session for MPs. As this list is not public, the National Assembly cannot answer your question.
The director general of the Ouranos climate research consortium, Alain Bourque, was one of three scientists who gave the briefing to MPs in June. He says he has seen a great response from elected officials and he says he is ready to repeat the exercise.
Former PQ MP Sylvain Gaudreault, who had invited the National Assembly to hold this “non-partisan” session, believes that the new Parliament should go further. “If Prime Minister François Legault wants to send a signal with his government, he should set up a transpartisan climate caucus, so that all MPs speak the same language when it comes to climate change,” he argues.
Mr. Gaudreault points out that there already exists in the United States a “Climate Solutions Caucus”, which is a caucus bringing together elected Democrats and Republicans. The House of Representatives and the Senate each have such a caucus.
On October 12, the French government, for its part, announced its intention to offer training on the issues of the fight against climate change to nearly 25,000 senior managers in the State civil service, from by 2024. By 2025, 41,000 executives from the three public functions (State, regional, hospital) will be entitled to the same training.