Green Quebec government looking for oil sands investors

After Quebec Premier Jean Charest publicly decried the oilsands projects last year in Copenhagen, the Quebec government is now asking entrepreneurs in the province to participate in a commercial mission in Edmonton to set up some business relationships with Alberta’s oil industry.

In a message destined to entrepreneurs from Quebec, the Ministry of Economic Development said “that the resumption of the oil sands development projects in Alberta” provides us with “some good business opportunities."

The ministry goes on to provide a list of the projects for which Quebec companies could become suppliers such as Suncor and Husky.

The mission - which happens every four years – is coming at a time when the issue of the oilsands, and the greenhouse gases generated by this operation, is a sensitive point between Quebec and Ottawa.

Premier Jean Charest and federal Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice butted heads on this issue at the Copenhagen Summit in December, as the Stephen Harper government was accused of being too soft on its objectives in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The federal government indicated that it might ease restrictions on the oil and gas sector as part of its overall climate change plans.

This perspective surprised Jean Charest who said that he could not “see how a Canadian citizen could accept such a scenario.”

According to the premier’s office on Friday, there were never any disagreements about oilsands, but rather about the objectives.

“At no time did Jean Charest criticize Alberta’s oil sands. The disagreement is related to the laxness of the federal government’s objectives”, QMI Agency told.

It did not take long for the Parti Quebecois to react. Delegate and spokesperson in matters of sustained development Scott Mackay criticized the mission.

“We are not opposed to commercial missions in general, but this one is about the government promoting investments in the oil sands. And that’s were the problem lies,” he said.

Mackay said Charest “tried to give off this image of pure green” by attacking Harper at the Copenhagen summit when in reality “he’s talking from different sides of his mouth.”

“He’s got two opposing discourses. This Quebec-lead mission is in conflict with what was said in Copenhagen,” Mackay said.