Quebec Wants Environmental Review Dropped

QUEBEC -- The energy minister of Quebec wants to speed up environmental reviews for new hydro-electrical projects - by eliminating federal scrutiny.

"The best way to eliminate the federal delay is to no longer have the federal government in our requirements," Rita Dionne-Marsolais told reporters after addressing a group that includes the leading electrical-equipment providers in Quebec.

Getting approval for a new hydro-electrical dam can take three or four years, she said, explaining that projects must be cleared by both governments.

She wants to harmonize the process so environmental studies done for Quebec can also be used for federal approval.

“I know that that will not be easy ... unless, of course, you help me convince all Quebec men and women to vote in favour of the sovereignty of Quebec." Her audience, members of the Association de l'Industrie électrique du Québec, did not react.

Later, association president Jacques Marquis took pains to stress his neutrality, noting that he was wearing red (the colour of the Quebec Liberals) and blue (the colour of the Parti Québécois) and that he wished he was wearing another colour, too, so Action Démocratique du Québec would not feel left out.

Dionne-Marsolais said that Quebec could develop an additional 45,000 megawatts of its hydro-electric potential, calling hydro power "energy that is totally green and renewable." She added that, for every dollar spent on developing hydro-electrical power, 90 cents stays in Quebec.

By contrast, for every dollar spent on natural-gas turbines, only 35 cents remain in Quebec, mainly because natural gas has to be imported from Alberta.

"If Quebec was a country, this would be very bad for our balance of payments," she said. Hydro-Québec is eager to explore for oil and gas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Gasp regions to lessen this dependence, as hydrocarbon finds off the Nova Scotia and Newfoundland coasts have done for those provinces.

But Ottawa has not given the green light for such exploration. "We are being held back by the federal government," the minister said.

Source: The Gazette