It was funny, to say the least, to see François Legault on Instagram yesterday, celebrating with emotion the inscription of the island of Anticosti in the status of a “World Heritage Site”, thanks to UNESCO.
On May 18, 2016, he nevertheless made fun of “our green giant Prime Minister” Philippe Couillard.
The day before, during Question Time, a PQ member (now Bloc member), Alain Therrien, criticized the Couillard government for delaying compliance with the contract signed by Pauline Marois to explore the island’s oil potential.
Philippe Couillard then replied on behalf of his minister David Heurtel: “I cannot find any harsh words for the Parti Québécois, who are obviously supporters of hydraulic fracturing.” […] who awarded a contract to a company without environmental assessment. […] And we know how it came about, in the middle of an election, such an unacceptable contract that we are sticking to. »
News
François Legault in 2016 strongly condemned this reaction. In his eyes, the Liberal prime minister sent “a very bad message, not only to those who work at Anticosti, but to all potential investors in Quebec in the oil sector.”
In his eyes, Anticosti’s opposition to hydrocarbon exploration was “as if he was afraid of finding oil, as if he was afraid of Quebecers making money.”
On such a large island, with only 250 inhabitants, “it is possible to look for ways to do things that do not affect the population,” emphasized François Legault.
Al Gore
If, as the saying goes, “Only crazy people never change their minds,” François Legault is certainly sensible.
I write it without irony. On the oil issue, many of us, like our Prime Minister, have moved in a direction that is, shall we say, “cowardly.”
(Personally, I remember essentially saying publicly in 2014 and maybe even 2016 myself that Anticosti was almost 20 times the size of the island of Montreal. “Is it so serious that we’re wasting a piece of it if… “It’s about improving our collective prosperity?” I won’t say it anymore.)
Yesterday, François Legault not only celebrated the “Unesquoian” protection of Anticosti – which was the result of a request from the Couillard government – but also received the green anointing from former Vice President Al Gore in New York on the same day. .like Jean Charest in Montreal in 2008!
Governments always have the disgusting reflex of blaming their predecessors for everything. “It was hell in front of us. Today everything is fabulous thanks to us. » A very legitimate response, I am told, to the opposition’s speeches that condemn all the government’s actions without any nuance.
The fact is that from time to time it would be good for our government leaders to acknowledge that they benefit from certain good decisions made by their predecessors.
The CAQ did have the elegance of inviting Philippe Couillard to the inauguration of the REM in Montreal. If there is a tram in Quebec one day, the former prime minister should be there too.
