Legault won’t the construction of dams for 10 years

Photo Agence QMI, Sebastien St-Jean
The leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec, François Legault

Charles Lecavalier

Tuesday, 23 January 2018 15:04

UPDATE
Tuesday, 23 January 2018 15:04

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The “James bay in the 21st century” will not take place until almost a decade, ” said François Legault, which promises all the same to revive the construction of hydropower plants.

“A dam, you can’t build it… it takes agreements with aboriginals, it takes the first export contracts”, launched the leader caquiste Tuesday in a press conference.

In 2016, François Legault had declared to his supporters that a “government of the CAQ [launch] a major project that [would create] thousands of paid employment”. “I’m talking about throwing a James bay in the 21st century,” he said. He, however, has never substantiated its plans to increase the hydroelectric capacity in Quebec to make it a center of export to canadian provinces and States of New England.

He said today that the “paid employment” that he promised are linked to the construction of dams, “may”, and the erection of transmission lines. When these dams will be constructed? “In 10 years, 15 years. It is necessary to look at it over a long period of time,” said Mr. Legault.

The project of James bay, the 21st century has been criticized by Philippe Couillard, that the judge behind the times. Mr. Couillard had indicated last fall that the era of large-scale hydropower plants was completed in Québec, with the advent of low-cost production of wind and solar power.

More recently, in an interview with our parliamentary Bureau, the president and CEO of Hydro-Québec, Éric Martel, has argued that a “huge potential” still exists, which would allow the State company to double its production, but that it is not justified to build new dams for the moment.

“We come to spill to Manic-5 for the first time since the dam exists. It was water as we had never had. It is necessary to be responsible, we would have been able to say: “We will continue to build dams and we are going to open the floodgates.” Nobody wins there,” said Mr. Martel.

This is without taking into account the arrival of smart homes and self-production of electricity: while residential consumption is stagnating in Quebec, it may decline in the coming years.

For François Legault, however, it should roll up their sleeves and convince our neighbors to import more electricity. He says that if Hydro-Quebec wins all the submissions it has made to the u.s. authorities, its current surplus will disappear. “I want to export even more electricity,” said Mr. Legault. He accuses also Philippe Couillard of being “irresponsible” in turning its back on hydropower.

But it does not build a dam without having first “signed” an agreement of export.