The head of Climat Québec, Martine Ouellet, wants to “make the climate the prism through which all other issues will be assessed”, and attacks the other parties, who are, according to her, in “climate denial”.
Monday evening, a debate on the “green economy” is organized by Réseau Environnement at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Representatives of four parties will be present, including the outgoing Minister of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, Benoit Charette.
But Martine Ouellet will not participate, since she was not invited.
“It’s a democratic deficit, it’s really a shame and it’s not very respectful of the parties. Often, we are not invited under false pretexts to this kind of debate, ”lamented the former Minister of Natural Resources in the government of Pauline Marois.
“The media and organizers often take the pretext of just choosing the parties that have deputies in the National Assembly, but even this criterion, they do not respect it. For example, the Conservative Party had no MP elected under the Conservative banner,” argued Martine Ouellet, pointing out that Éric Duhaime was invited to the main debates.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, the head of Climat Québec indicated that if she were invited to the main debates, she would take the opportunity to explain that we must “make the climate the prism through which all other issues will be assessed, whether namely energy, economic development, health, transport, forestry, agriculture, urban development, etc. »
“We can no longer authorize projects that worsen the climate crisis. We must completely review our way of doing economic development in Quebec,” she said.
Climate denial
Martine Ouellet, whose new party has unearthed 54 candidates, is of the opinion “that we can no longer authorize projects that will worsen the climate crisis. We must completely review our way of doing economic development in Quebec. »
“The CAQ, as well as the PCQ, continue to sink us with proposals worthy of another century such as the third link, the PLQ and the PQ try to take over by proposing solutions that are largely insufficient, QS and the PVQ, for their part, weaken their political capacity to really act by proposing a panoply of highly divisive commitments on a large number of subjects”, indicated Ms.me Ouellet.
The Climat Québec program proposes to reduce gas and oil in factories by 60% and to eliminate this type of energy in commercial, institutional and residential buildings.
“The most polluting energy in Quebec is gas, it is the first energy that must be taken out of our energy equation. That is the first thing to do, get the gas out of buildings, residences, factories, ”summarized Martine Ouellet.
The party would also like to invest $5 billion a year to make public transit free throughout Quebec, develop a 100% Quebec self-service electric car project and revise the sales tax on vehicles in order to modulate it depending on the GHGs emitted.
Crack down on delinquent companies
Martine Ouellet would suspend the activities of the Horne foundry in Rouyn-Noranda until it complies with Quebec standards.
“This company continues to send poison, arsenic, on the heads of citizens. They will still allow for five years. Climate Quebec will never agree to haggle over the health of the population, ”said the one who is running in the riding of Marie-Victorin.
“It will disturb certain economic interests in place, but we must not prevent ourselves from doing it, it is necessary, we are not there to enrich certain companies, we are there for the population, for the citizens. »
Climat Québec also promises to close the Ciment McInnis plant in Port-Daniel–Gascons, in the Gaspé, “the biggest GHG polluter in Quebec”.
Reduce meat consumption
If elected, the separatist party would promote, “with all the means of the State, local production and consumption, short circuits, organic production and greenhouse production”.
Martine Ouellet would also like to encourage the reduction of meat consumption.
“Where the state has controls, such as in the cafeterias of schools, hospitals, CHSLDs, vegetarian menus must be offered. And in Quebec, we are one of the biggest consumers of meat in Canada. It’s surprising, isn’t it? But this is the case, and therefore reducing our meat consumption is also one of the ways to reduce our greenhouse gases and also to improve our health, ”said the head of Climat Québec.
Ban private jets
The Green Party of Quebec, another party whose battle horse is the climate crisis, “would ask the federal government to provide a plan to reduce the airline industry, which would particularly target private jets”, according to its leader Alex Tyrrell.
Questioned on this subject, a spokesperson for Climat Québec indicated that “the plane is the worst mode of transport when it comes to GHG emissions and it is even more catastrophic with private jets, because there are very few passengers” and “prohibiting private jets as a mode of individual comfort transport is the only realistic, equitable and applicable solution”. Climat Québec, however, specified that “it will first be necessary to get out of oil Canada to recover all our powers to put in place this kind of legislation in Quebec”.
In recent months, many voices have been raised in France to ask for the supervision of the use of private jets. The national secretary of the Greens has also indicated that he will table a bill in the fall to ban them.
During last spring’s by-election in Marie-Victorin, Martine Ouellet obtained 310 votes and 1.9% of the votes. Recent polls do not suggest very different scenarios for the former PQ minister, who does not seem to be discouraged.
“We are holding our first general election, we are going to see the results it will give and this is a first step. We do not create a political party just for one year, it is a project of ten years, “said Mr.me Ouellet.