Ladies and gentlemen, candidates for the provincial elections on October 3, we are business men and women and we manage and develop businesses for which we are responsible. We are very concerned about the climate change crisis.
Posted at 1:00 p.m.
The positions that you and your respective parties take on this issue during the election campaign will be crucial to our collective future given the gravity of the situation.
As businessmen and women, we are proud to contribute to the development of Québec and, like you, we believe in science. We are aware, from reading the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that the commitment to carbon neutrality made by Quebec for 2050 must absolutely be achieved. In view of the scale of the changes necessary to achieve this, we cannot postpone the structural and necessary measures any longer without risking serious consequences for society and its economy. The year 2050 is only 28 years from now!
As leaders who must think about the future of their businesses and the adaptation measures that will have to be implemented quickly, but also as citizens, parents and grandparents, we want to know more about what you and your party intend to take concrete action to achieve the 2030 and 2050 goals.
To this end, we do not just want to hear promises about the actions you plan to take over the next four years. We ask for the following details:
– we would like to know the timetable for reductions, in tonnage of greenhouse gases (GHG), which will result from your commitments and investments, and to know how this timetable will bring us closer to the objectives set;
– since the climate challenge cuts across most human activities, we would like to know, in concrete terms, the impact, in figures, that this calendar will have on the main sectors of the economy;
– we need to know what a government led by you and your party will do to help businesses adapt to climate change and reduce GHGs;
– it is clear that difficult, even unpopular, choices will have to be made from the start of your mandate; your courage must be exemplary, in order to maintain a constructive and mobilizing momentum. How will you manage this priority if there is resistance to the necessary changes?
– Québec has the advantage of producing, thanks to Hydro-Québec, clean energy which will be the key to our climate action. To do this, Hydro-Québec declared last March that it had to increase its current capacity by more than 50% (100 TWh) so that by 2050, Québec could achieve carbon neutrality. We need to know what the rules will be for allocating this energy between the various sectors of the economy.
Climate change is real and is already impacting all of us. The mandate you are requesting should be one of the largest in the history of Quebec given the requirements of the climate challenge. As business people, we want to be part of the solution, but we can’t do it alone. We need to know what your contribution will be, whether you are in power or in opposition, so that Quebec reaches the target it has set. We cannot content ourselves with vague promises on such a major issue.
* Co-signatories: Eric Alexandre, Chairman and CEO, Orbit Garant Drilling; François Auger, President and CEO, Solutions ideation6 inc; Valérie Berger, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Berger; Mike Cegelski, Chairman of the Board, Panache Ventures; Liliane Colpron, former president, Première Moisson; Jacques Côté, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Solmax; Gina Doucet, Managing Partner, Cain Lamarre; Patrick Dussault, Co-Chairman and CEO, Namakor Holdings; Raymond Dutil, Executive Chairman, Rocky Mountain; Daniel Foliot, founder and former CEO, Foliot Furniture; Elizabeth Henry, CEO and Partner, Adviso Conseil; Robert Lafond, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lafond Financial Services; Claude Lapointe, President, Construction LFG; Jacques Larivière, President and CEO, Gestion Milec; Steve Larouche, vice-president, Forage Chibougamau; David Lauzon, President, Lauzon Exclusive Hardwood Floors; Martin Lussier, ex-president, Plombco; Martin Le Moine, President, Fruit d’Or; Pierre Marcouiller, Executive Chairman of the Board, NEXCAP Partners; Hugue Meloche, President and CEO, Groupe Meloche; Pierre Montminy, founder, Medicart; Jacques Nantel, corporate director and member of the Order of Canada; Alain Paquet, former vice-president, FORDIA; Luc Paquet, ex-president, FORDIA; Daniel Pelletier, President and CEO, Artopex; Jean-François Renaud, President and Co-Founder and Partner, Adviso Conseil; Louis Roy, President and CEO, Optel; Maxime Saint-Laurent, Executive Vice President, Quailco Investments; Bernard Séguin-Poirier, artist-entrepreneur; Doug Sharpe, President, Elasto Proxy Inc; Yves St-Amant, President, Genest St-Amant Drapeau Gibeault CPA SENCRL; Louis Veilleux, President and Founder, Groupe Mundial; Jacques Woods, President, WONpager Strategies; Christian Yaccarini, President and CEO, Angus Land Trust