(Quebec) After the loss of 1,600 jobs, the Parti Québécois is calling for an emergency debate in the National Assembly on the Legault government’s $1.37 billion “gamble” in public funds on Northvolt, half of which has already been committed. It accuses the Prime Minister of a lack of transparency in this affair.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s party actually made the request to the President of the National Assembly, Nathalie Roy, on Monday. She wants this debate, which will last two hours, to take place on Tuesday.
An emergency debate is an exceptional parliamentary procedure. The last one was in 2017. It was under the Couillard government, at the request of CAQ leader François Legault, in the Bombardier C Series file.
At a press conference in Quebec City, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon stressed that the 1,600 job cuts are “one piece of news among others that should attract our attention.” He recalled that Northvolt’s production plant project in Quebec has been postponed for up to 18 months, that the facilities in California have been closed, that BMW has cancelled a $3 billion battery purchase contract and that creditors have called on a bank specializing in financial restructuring.
“We need to see clearly. If you reduce the size of your employees, the number of employees by a fifth and then you go to a specialized bank to avoid bankruptcy or restructure, try to manage significant financial distress, it’s because all the projects will be called into question,” said Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. “We would like investments in Quebec to work in the interest of all Quebecers, but we can’t turn a blind eye when the context changes radically and in a context where the government doesn’t want to give us information on this famous deal made by Pierre Fitzgibbon, who is no longer here,” he added. “We’re trying to get the truth, particularly on the public funds already committed, but we’re not getting it.”
The PQ is wondering, among other things, what guarantees Quebec has obtained in return for the injection of public funds. Some $710 million has already been committed. According to François Legault’s explanations, the other half of the public funds would be paid once the plant is up and running.
So far, Quebec has made a guaranteed loan of $240 million for the purchase of land in McMasterville and Saint-Basile-le-Grand. It has given the green light to equity investments in the Swedish parent company ($270 million from the Ministry of the Economy and $200 million from the Caisse de dépôt et placement).
“Clearly, we didn’t do our homework, clearly, we took risks. It’s François Legault who says it’s a gamble. We bet public funds. It’s turning sour. Let’s make the best decisions in the interest of Quebec, and that starts with government transparency regarding the nature of the agreement,” argued Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon.
According to him, holding an emergency debate is also justified by a “circumvention” of the BAPE rules and a lack of transparency behind the granting of a 360 MW energy block in a context of shortage.
He is “flabbergasted” by the Liberal Party’s request to immediately withdraw this block of energy from Northvolt and award it to Quebec companies. We need to know more about the contract before deciding on the issue, because “Quebec must respect its commitments and remain a stable and reliable business environment.”
“We must do the work seriously and study the nature of the agreement and talk about the options for the Quebec government in such a context,” he added, arguing for the need for an emergency debate to achieve this.
The PQ leader drew a parallel with François Legault’s request for an emergency debate in 2017, when $1.3 billion was also at risk. He recalled the CAQ leader’s comments at the time: “The Liberal government got screwed. It acted like a schoolboy, in front of a big company that got everything. But the taxpayers are taking all the risks. It’s a bad deal.”
For Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the Northvolt project, “François Legault presented it as the Baie-James, the biggest construction site since the Baie-James, and it could turn out to be the biggest nightmare in terms of public funds since the CSeries.”