The Canadian Press reports, “The Quebec government is taking an initial step that could lead to the creation of its own international-aid agency that would run parallel to the Government of Canada’s. …The PQ government says federal aid programs have become tainted by the priorities of the federal Conservative party. The federal government has said it wants to increasingly pair aid efforts with Canadian mining projects abroad. …Quebec International Relations Minister Jean-Francois Lisee (says) CIDA has become tightly integrated into the economic development strategy of the Canadian government.”
“The provincial government has asked a Quebec association of development groups to study what such a provincial department should look like. A committee, led by the Quebec Association for International Solidarity, is expected to produce a report on the project by the end of 2013. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Alexandre Cloutier said the committee should also assess the amounts that may be repatriated to Quebec towards a future provincial agency. He estimated the amount at around $800 million.”
Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow writes, “The Harper government froze foreign aid in 2010. It now stands at 0.29% of the country’s GDP, a far cry from Canada’s promise to reach the UN aid target of 0.7% of GDP. In the latest budget, the Harper government slashed even that small budget by $377 million, leaving aid agencies to scramble to meet commitments to the world’s poor. Furthermore, Stephen Harper has changed Canadian aid and development policy in a way that is ringing alarm bells around the world. It has cut ties to traditional aid and development agencies such as KAIROS, and instructed CIDA to give money only to those agencies that will do business with Canadian mining companies operating in the recipient country. Between 2006 and 2012, CIDA approved at least $50 million in projects linked to Canadian mining companies. The Canadian mining industry has been identified in an industry report as having the worst environmental and human rights violations around the world. But yet the industry faces no penalties back in Canada, as Harper blocked legislation that would have reined in abusers. In fact, aid will now go to those countries that make these companies welcome with friendly investment policies. This means that Canadian tax dollars, aid agencies and even some embassies may be implicated in the violent suppression of local anti-mining activities in communities in the Global South.”
Quebec considering its own international-aid agency is one more example of how it has challenged the agenda of the Harper government:
Asbestos
In September 2012, the Globe and Mail reported, “Canada is ending its much-maligned practice of defending asbestos mining on the world stage, a reversal of a stand that made it a pariah in some international circles. The Harper government is blaming the incoming Parti Québécois regime for its change of heart. Premier-designate Pauline Marois’s party pledged during the provincial election campaign to cancel a government loan guarantee designed to resurrect the big Jeffrey asbestos mine in Asbestos, Que.”
Canada-EU free trade
The Canadian Press also reported at that time, “Trade Minister Ed Fast intends to meet with his counterpart in Quebec soon amid reports questioning whether the province’s new Parti Quebecois government remains onside in free-trade talks with Europe. Some news reports have suggested Premier Pauline Marois may not be as much of a cheerleader on a deal with the European Union as her predecessor, although there has been no announcement rejecting the talks. (Fast) said he intends to take up the issue with his counterpart, likely Jean-Francois Lisee, the minister of international relations.”
Line 9
Harper’s natural resources minister Joe Oliver has backed Line 9 as “an exercise is good public relations”, but Quebec’s natural resources minister Martine Ouellet has stated, “There are economic advantages with respect to costs and it also represents an alternate source of supply. But we also have to examine the environmental impact. What kind of oil will be transported in the pipeline? Is it light crude? Will it be conventional oil or not? We are still waiting for answers.” In November, the Globe and Mail reported, “Quebec said it will also undertake public consultations of its own but has yet to define the type of environmental review process it will initiate.”
Fracking
While the Harper government has promoted fracking, the Vancouver Sun reported last September that Ouellet stated, “Our position is very clear: we want a complete moratorium, not only on exploitation but also on exploration of shale gas.” Furthermore, Ouellet added that she cannot envision the day when technology would allow for the safe extraction of shale gas.
Nuclear power
In September, the PQ also announced that it would close the Gentilly-2 nuclear power plant. Last month, the Globe and Mail reported, “Hydro-Québec president Thierry Vandal said shale gas development in the US has forced North American electricity prices way down, and those lower gas costs are the biggest single factor behind the utility’s recommendation to decommission Gentilly-2. Nuclear power simply can’t compete, especially when refitting Quebec’s only remaining plant would cost $3 billion.”
That said, there are still serious concerns about the PQ government.
The Canadian Press reports this weekend that, “Montreal police arrested 36 people on Saturday during a second day of protests against Quebec’s northern development plan. Demonstrators rallied outside a job fair at the city’s convention centre, where businesses and workers were meeting to discuss opportunities in the natural resources sector. Marie Lys, a 25-year-old from Montreal, argued the approach to northern development hasn’t changed much since Premier Pauline Marois and her Parti Québécois took power in last September’s election. Martine Ouellet, Quebec’s minister of natural resources, defended the PQ’s plan (saying) ‘We want sustainable development. We want development that’s respectful of the environment and communities.'”
