Private companies that pump fresh water from Quebec’s lakes and rivers may soon have to pay royalties ten times higher. These new revenues would support the creation of the new Blue Fund promised by the Coalition avenir Québec during the election campaign.
The Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, tabled Bill 20 in the National Assembly on Tuesday “establishing the Blue Fund and modifying other provisions”. This provides for the review every five years of the royalties imposed on companies that abstract water from Quebec and creates, as the name suggests, the Blue Fund, a flagship promise of François Legault’s team in the election campaign. last year.
If adopted, it will officially launch the Blue Fund, “assigned in particular to the financing of any measure that the Minister […] can achieve in connection with the protection, restoration, enhancement and management of water”. It will also make sure to “prohibit or limit certain uses of water”.
In his budget tabled in mid-March, the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, had reserved $500 million for the creation of the Blue Fund. However, the $3 million in royalties paid annually to the Quebec government were not enough to finance this new Fund. Minister Charette therefore intended to increase them “significantly”.
Thing promised, thing due. Minister Charette will announce this afternoon that he will modify the Quebec regulations to increase the value of the royalties by 900%.
Further details will follow.
To see in video