Latest news with #PierreFitzgibbon
CBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Quebec government invokes closure to force through sweeping energy bill
The Quebec government has invoked closure to speed up the adoption of a bill that will give Hydro-Québec free rein to increase its electricity production. This parliamentary procedure limits the time devoted to debate on a motion or bill and fast-tracks its adoption. Christine Fréchette, Quebec's economy and energy minister, said adopting Bill 69 before the end of the legislative session would save $6 billion on the government's $30 billion wind power strategy. The bill makes sweeping changes to the operations of Hydro-Québec and how electricity rates are fixed. The government has promised to cap increases in residential electricity rates to three per cent. The bill will also allow a private company to sell its electricity to another and aims to simplify partnerships with Indigenous communities. Opposition parties are highly critical of the bill, deeming it poorly crafted. Quebec's former "super minister" of economy and energy Pierre Fitzgibbon tabled the bill in June 2024 — highlighting the purpose of accelerating the production of green energy. After he stepped down, Fréchette took over, but the bill's legislative process was weeks ago, she tabled 52 amendments to modify the bill.
CBC
17-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Voting underway for Quebec byelection in Terrebonne
Voters are heading to the polls on Monday in a riding northeast of Montreal to replace former economy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon. The former high-profile cabinet minister in François Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec quit politics in September 2024. The Terrebonne riding had been held by Fitzgibbon since the CAQ formed government in 2018, but it had previously been a stronghold of the sovereigntist Parti Québécois going back to 1976. The PQ has been atop the polls in Quebec, and leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has been campaigning hard to reclaim the riding with his candidate, party president Catherine Gentilcore. Legault's party is putting up Alex Gagné, president of a Quebec organization fighting for student success. The ballot includes a total of nine candidates to fill the only vacant seat at the 125-seat legislature. The race for the empty seat takes place amid trade tensions between Canada and the United States. The byelection was called when Legault was in Washington in an attempt to dissuade U.S. President Donald Trump from imposing tariffs on Canadian products. Legault's party holds 86 seats in the legislature, followed by the Quebec Liberals at 19, Québec Solidaire at 12, the PQ at four seats and three independents.
CBC
11-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Terrebonne riding will vote in March byelection to replace former 'super minister' Pierre Fitzgibbon
A provincial byelection will take place March 17 in Terrebonne for the seat of former Coalition Avenir Québec "super minister" Pierre Fitzgibbon, who oversaw economy, innovation and energy. Fitzgibbon resigned in September in a move that appeared to surprise his party and its leader, Premier François Legault, also a longtime friend. First elected in 2018, Fitzgibbon won again in the 2022 provincial elections in his riding of Terrebonne, north of Montreal. He played a key role in the development of an electric vehicle battery plant planned for Montreal's South Shore and had tabled a wide-ranging energy bill set to be debated shortly before his departure. Early Tuesday morning, posters for candidates running for Quebec's main political parties began appearing on streets and boulevards in Terrebonne, despite the fact that the byelection had not officially been called yet. It was announced a few hours later by Élections Québec by way of news release. Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters that his party began installing its signs after it had discovered the CAQ was already doing so. In a video posted to X, the CAQ announced the candidacy of Alex Gagné, president and founder of À deux pas de la réussite, a non-profit working to fight school dropout rates. The PQ candidate is Catherine Gentilcore, the president of the party's executive council. Gentilcore is favoured to win, according to Quebec's polling aggregator website, QC125, with 39 per cent of voting intentions compared to the CAQ's current 27 per cent. The Quebec Liberal Party candidate is Virginie Bouchard, the party's regional president for the region of Lanaudière. Nadia Poirier of Québec Solidaire, who also ran in 2022, will be running again. Terrebonne is located on Montreal's North Shore between the cities of Bois-des-Filion and Repentigny. It has a population of 80,607 people, of whom 60,184 can vote, according to Élections Québec. Before Fitzgibbon's election in 2018, the PQ had lost in the riding only once since 1976. That was in 2007, the year Mario Dumont's former party, the Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ), was riding high. Jean-François Therrien was elected at the time, but the PQ soon gained back the constituency in 2008 with Mathieu Traversy. In 2018, Fitzgibbon won the riding against Traversy. He won again in 2022 with 49 per cent of votes, against 19 per cent for the PQ.
