François Legault will believe in the magic of Christmas this year! At the end of a difficult year, marked in particular by the collapse of Northvolt and the dismal polls, destiny smiled on him just in time for him to prepare for his holiday vacation with a light heart.
In the last weeks of the parliamentary session, we already felt that the CAQ leader had softened his tone.
Rather than retaliating with empty partisan replies, the PM was more conciliatory, notably with Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
He had stopped ridiculing his proposal for free lunches in schools, while politely pleading for more targeted aid for the less fortunate.
He was also gentlemanly to new co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal, acknowledging that her suggestion of free female contraceptives was a “good idea” that would be evaluated.
When reviewing the session last Friday, he had the lucky hand of announcing that he was considering banning prayers in public spaces.
If the declaration is controversial for some, the discomfort of the CAQ leader in front of people who kneel in the middle of the street is echoed in many cottages.
The ban on the wearing of religious symbols by people in authority was so successful for him that secularism became a refuge value.
The Bedford School scandal gives him the perfect pretext to sing this popular refrain again.
And Trump
His good relationship with Emmanuel Macron then earned him an invitation to the inauguration of Notre-Dame de Paris and a meeting with Donald Trump.
Lady luck was there.
Justin Trudeau had chosen other commitments and was not there.
François Legault was then able to boast, with his counterparts from other provinces and the federal government, of having had the pulse of the American president in a privileged exchange.
The CAQ leader surely played the card of his business knowledge with the rebellious tycoon.
Electricity for a long time
But the most important thing is this agreement in principle with Newfoundland and Labrador for a supply of electricity at a more than reasonable rate for the next 50 years.
Quebec could have waited until the Churchill Falls agreement expired in 2041, blissfully taking advantage of the ridiculously low rate of 0.2 cents per kilowatt hour, despite the grievances of the small Maritime province.
But Newfoundland would then have paid the bill dearly.
In a context where Hydro-Québec already needs to double its production capacity, it would have been unthinkable to deprive ourselves of this supply, which represents 15% of all the energy consumed here.
Quebec will therefore pay more from now on for these megawatts.
At 4 cents on average for Churchill Falls and 6 cents including other projects with Newfoundland, it’s still a really good deal, compared to the estimated cost of 13 cents for projects in the works in Quebec.
Dams built here would have been more in line with the nationalism he advocates, but François Legault surely tells himself that we cannot have everything in life.
He can at least dream of a New Year’s Eve without a lost compass joke and of a start to the year on this journey, forged by secularism, economy and energy.
IN BULK
Reunited… at the Bell Centre!
During the press conference alongside Andrew Furey in St. John’s on Thursday, François Legault revealed that he attended CH games on several occasions: “We often meet at the Bell Centre, even if Andrew is a Senators fan. .. but I know his son is a Habs fan.”
Photo Martin Chevalier
Jonatan’s $100 million smile
Minister Jonatan Julien is surely impatient to finally announce good news for a jewel of the greater Capitale-Nationale region. Behind the scenes in government, he was one of those who defended an investment shared with RCR for Mont-Sainte-Anne. See you Tuesday!
ARCHIVE PHOTO Simon Clark/QMI Agency
