After health, immigration and migrant workers, Justin Trudeau’s government is now tangled in power cords, another area of provincial jurisdiction.
The next federal budget on Tuesday will include measures to increase the country’s hydroelectric capacity, which are usually the responsibility of the states. The rationale: keeping pace with the US pace, according to the Globe and Mail.
According to the Toronto Daily, Ottawa is considering a combination of tax credits, grants and pursuing funding deals with the provinces. All this in a context where “the demand for electricity should be at least doubled [qu’elle est] increasingly used to drive means of transport, heat buildings and the energy industry. »
An injustice to Hydro-Québec
The Bloc Québécois will not accept projects funded by the federal government with Quebecers’ money to compete with the national flagship Hydro-Québec, replies Bloc Québécois natural resources spokesman Mario Simard.
“The federal government has already made a mistake by providing billions in funding for the Muskrat Falls project in Newfoundland, which was in direct competition with Hydro-Québec. Under no circumstances will we tolerate Ottawa interfering with our hydroelectric power grid. This is a clear responsibility of Quebec and the provinces,” he stresses.
compensation required
If this federal initiative sees the light of day, Quebec must be exempted and compensated, the bloc reminds, stressing that the federal government must not fall into “the nuclear trap.”
The Electricity Canada Association, the Business Council of Canada and environmental groups are said to support the Ottawa project, arguing that the current slowdown in investment is threatening Canada’s competitive advantage over America.