Despite the closure of his leader, the Minister of the Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, persists and signs: all sources of energy must be evaluated, including nuclear power. And it will be up to Quebecers to decide what they think of this option.
“Quebec’s ambitions in terms of economic growth and decarbonization are such that we must look at all the alternatives, what Michael Sabia is doing, what we are doing at the Ministry of Energy. We will then decide, collectively, among the population, what are the sources of renewable energy or low-fossil energy,” said the minister during question period on Wednesday.
“When we look at what is happening in the world – because we have to look outside of Quebec – nuclear power is essential. If people think that the planet must decarbonize without nuclear power, that’s wrong. Everyone agrees,” Mr Fitzgibbon added.
Tuesday in New York, Prime Minister François Legault said on the subject of nuclear power that “for the moment, we are not touching that”.
Climate Ambition Summit
The government is looking for new sources of energy. François Legault assures that there are many avenues to explore – energy efficiency, negotiations with Newfoundland and Labrador regarding the Churchill Falls and Gull Island power stations, raising existing dams and building new ones. –, and that nuclear power is not part of it for the moment.
Prime Minister Legault was in New York this week, notably to attend the Climate Ambition Summit at the UN which took place on Wednesday.
He says he is proud for all of Quebec of this invitation, even if he was not able to speak, unlike his federal counterpart, Justin Trudeau. “We knew it,” assures the Prime Minister in the press scrum just before going to the summit.
“There are around a hundred countries that have been invited. Only nine states, including Quebec, which are not countries. There will be discussions and above all it is an opportunity to meet other leaders,” he added.
“Hero”
Mr. Legault, however, spoke at a meeting of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance group – of which Quebec is a part – which was held on Tuesday. Former US Vice President Al Gore was in attendance. During his speech, Mr. Gore called the members of this group “heroes”.
“Future generations will remember this alliance and say […] that they were heroes,” he said.
Opposition parties reacted to this statement on Wednesday morning.
“Remember that Mr. Legault, in the 2018 campaign, had no plan on the environment. It was the last of his priorities. And, during the last election, well, he tabled, you will remember, the Plan for a Green Economy, which did not have the means to match its ambitions,” argued PQ leader Joël Arseneau.
“The plan presented by the government is not the plan of an environmental hero. Because he is not reaching the reduction targets, the targets of his own government,” said solidarity worker Alejandra Zaga Mendez.
“François Legault is the heir to commitments that were made by liberal governments, particularly responsible ones. What is François Legault, the pseudo-green giant, doing today? » questioned the interim Liberal leader, Marc Tanguay.
Even the federal Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, made a jab at Quebec regarding its participation in this Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance group.
“Quebec is committed to being part of this organization. We continue to import oil into Quebec: 360,000 barrels of oil per day. We don’t produce it, but there is someone else who produces it for us, the Quebecers who use it. We need this type of initiative, but we have to look at the whole equation,” he explained on Wednesday at the UN in New York.
Consensus on the environment in Quebec?
During his visit to New York, the Prime Minister affirmed that the question of the fight against climate change has consensus within Quebec’s political parties, despite the fact that his political opponents regularly criticize him for his lack of ambition.
“I have always considered that in Quebec, the parties do not differ on the environment because we all agree,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press in the official residence of Quebec At New York.
He also claims to be surprised to see, when he meets his counterparts from other provinces, that this is not consensual among them.
But how does he then explain that he is criticized by his adversaries – Québec solidaire in particular – who accuse him of not doing enough? “It’s more rhetoric,” he replies.
“Honestly, how can we say that we are not doing enough when we are the best in North America,” adds the Prime Minister. A line which will also be repeated numerous times during his stay in New York.
The Prime Minister also thinks that the majority of the Quebec population is sensitive to the issue of climate change. However, he wonders about those who still do not believe it.
“These famous conspiracy theorists, you really have to be “bocked”. It is obvious that there is climate change and that there are significant impacts, floods and extreme temperatures,” said the Prime Minister.