(Quebec) The Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) proposes that the National Assembly launch a national consultation on the future of energy in Quebec.
The opposition party explains that the traveling commission would consult the population and the experts; she would be asked to report by the end of 2023.
The commission would focus on Québec’s current and future energy needs and on the public investments that will be necessary in the coming decades to achieve the energy transition and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The leader of the official opposition, Marc Tanguay, and the PLQ spokesperson for energy and natural resources, Gregory Kelley, add that the members of the commission must imperatively visit all regions of Quebec and that the nations Indigenous peoples should be consulted and stakeholders in the process.
The PLQ indicates that the commission would be co-chaired by two deputies, one from the government and another from its party which forms the official opposition.
The PLQ recalls that to meet Quebec’s energy needs, the government considers that approximately 100 terawatt-hours (TWh) will have to be added to the approximately 210 TWh already produced annually. The opposition party thinks that as such, the population must be consulted on the principles that will guide the decisions of the government and of Hydro-Québec, especially since energy needs are likely to increase further if Québec wants to help its neighbors reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.
Marc Tanguay invites the government not to decide everything behind closed doors about the future of energy in Quebec. MP Kelley adds that the Liberal proposal is intended to be an essential democratic exercise.