Plan Nord finds another critic, former PQ premier Jacques Parizeau

The former premier of Quebec Jacques Parizeau isn’t impressed by Plan Nord.

Parizeau criticized the development scheme for northern Quebec, which Premier Jean Charest’s Liberal government is promoting, in the Nov. 21 edition of the French-language daily, le Devoir.

Parizeau said the Charest government made an error when it pulled back from the principle that “when a mine sets up shop in the North it pays for everything,” by offering mining companies various incentives, including cheap power, under Plan Nord.

Over the next 25 years Plan Nord plans to spend $80 billion in public and private money, which will go towards developing energy projects and infrastructure in northern Quebec.

And, from now until 2016, Charest has promised to spend $1.6 billion on new infrastructure in northern Quebec — without saying exactly what that money will pay for.

“That opens the door to whatever,” said Parizeau, mentioning the demands made by companies like Oceanic for a deep water port and fibre optic conection to the South for its proposed iron mine near Aupaluk.

Quebec could find itself in a good position economically without doing anything, Parizeau said.

“The companies are there, they have exploration permits we don’t have to attract them,” he told le Devoir.

Instead of laying down a red carpet for mining companies, Parizeau said he would like to see mining companies giving back part of their profits to Quebec.