Editor's Note:On Monday, April 7, the Liberal Party of Quebec earned a majority mandate in the Quebec provincial election. The Liberals won the election with 41% of the popular vote and took 70 seats in the 125-seat National Assembly. The Parti Québécois won 30 seats, the Coalition Avenir Québec 22 and Québec Solidaire three.
The following is an interview from March 14 with Liberal Party leader Philippe Couillard, now premier, during the month-long campaign regarding his party’s plan to restart the province’s Plan Nord project in Northern Quebec.
(Kitco News) - Quebec Liberal Party leader Philippe Couillard announced the ‘Plan Nord +’ this morning in Val d’Or, Quebec, which is an extension of the original Plan Nord.
Former Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s Plan Nord mining project, released in May 2011, was expected to create 20,000 jobs annually for the province and generate over $80 billion over a 25-year period.
In a telephone interview with Kitco News this afternoon, Couillard said that bringing the Plan Nord back to the table was a no-brainer.
“We’re putting most of it back as it was, because it was an excellent plan of sustainable development for Quebec,” Couillard said. “Unfortunately the Parti Quebecois (PQ) basically killed it when they came into office. They have a hostile attitude towards the mining industry, and private activity in general, so it wasn’t long before the signal was sent that this was over.”
The original Plan Nord covered an area of 1.2 million kilometers squared – an area twice the size of France, to put it in perspective – above the 49th parallel, a vast territory boasting a wide range of minerals including, but not limited to, gold, platinum group metals, iron ore, nickel, cobalt, zinc, lithium, vanadium, rare-earth metals, uranium and diamonds.
Couillard added two elements to the Plan Nord + which will focus on helping grow in-province business within the mining sector and sharing more of the taxes with communities.
“First, we’re going to use the investment arm of the Quebec government, Investissement Quebec, to build a network of contractors that can build equipment for the mining industry, and related businesses so that we can build a complete mining industry,” he said. “We’re going to put $1 billion there to start new businesses, merge new businesses, support businesses when they want to expand.”
Couillard added that the $1 billion is from Investissement Ressources, and was not initially tagged for Plan Nord +.
“Second, when our government is formed, we will share the taxation of natural resources with the regions,” Couillard continued. “Instead of sending it all to Quebec City, and then back to the regions as subsidies and programs, some of it is going to stay in the region so they can adapt professional training for youths and to create businesses to sustain entrepreneurship in the regions.”
He also announced the creation the Plan Nord society, which is going to be independent organization with an independent board to monitor progress.
Asked about the current state of the mining sector in Quebec, Couillard said it’s not close to where it should be.
“The sector’s been shaken with continuous changes, different noises coming from the government,” Couillard said. “We’re also removing, what I think is part of the big picture, the limit of political uncertainty that was linked to the PQ being in office, and the threat of separation, which, let’s face it, doesn’t appeal to investors in general.”
The province was once the jewel of mining on a global scale, but Quebec has seen a fall from grace in the mining sector over a very short period of time.
With the Fraser Institute’s Annual Survey of Mining’s most recent rankings released in early March, Quebec finds itself 21st in the rankings, a far cry from the three consecutive years it placed first in the survey, between 2007/2008 and 2009/2010. Last year the province dipped out of the top 10 best mining jurisdictions in the world, placing 11th, the first time since 2001.
The possibility of a majority PQ victory has fueled a lot of referendum and speculation talk in the media, which isn’t surprising to Couillard.
“In a broader sense for Quebec, because the PQ’s main agenda remains a referendum and separation of Quebec from Canada, which of course we totally oppose,” Couillard said. “This is taking up the priority of Quebecers. People want jobs, they want a good economy, good health care, good education like everywhere else in Canada, and they certainly don’t want the referendum and separation of Quebec.”
When asked what the mining landscape may look like should the PQ get a majority government, Couillard was unfazed.
“The Liberals will form a majority government on April 7,” Couillard said. “As soon as we’re elected, we’re going to go out on an international mission to the mining industry to essentially tell them the simple message that (the mining sector in) Quebec is back in business and we’re open to investors, we want investors.”
By Alex Létourneau of Kitco News aletourneau@kitco.com
Follow Alex Letourneau @alex_letourneau