Even if it recognizes that Quebec needs foreign capital to develop its battery industry, the PLQ believes that Legault’s accounting nationalism is missing its target.
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“I have the chief accountant, who is the Prime Minister, and the other accountant, who is the Minister of the Economy. In their “interest in Quebec” column, are they really aware of what they are doing? Asked Monsef Derraji, MP for Nelligan of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), official opposition spokesperson for SMEs and innovation.
Last Friday, the Minister of the Economy of the Legault government, Pierre Fitzgibbon, granted an interview to the Journal on his return from the Battery Show in Detroit during which he denounced a certain “demagogy” on the question of “Quebec detention. “.
At Newspaper, Pierre Fitzgibbon at the same time raised the importance of keeping control of the industry here and of converting spodumene in Quebec.
“That is our focus, more than ‘who owns?’, ‘Who puts the money?’ because we don’t have enough money in Quebec to do it anyway, ”he explained, recalling that investments of more than $ 10 billion are needed in a race where other countries are playing elbow.
Foreign capital
On Tuesday, the PLQ agreed with the minister on the fact that foreign capital is needed for projects in the battery sector, but he accused him of not doing enough to keep the strategic shareholding. with us.
“I am not against foreign capital, but I did not see a real desire on the part of the Caquista government to have an ecosystem where a good majority of shareholders are Quebeckers,” denounced Monsef Derraji, MP for Nelligan.
Nemaska Lithium, North American Lithium (NAL) … Monsef Derraji believes that Quebec could have done more to include as many Quebec shareholders as possible.
“I would have liked to see François Legault tear his shirt to ask for money from Ottawa to develop the industry in Quebec. Where is the federal government in the development of this sector? He wondered aloud.
When asked if he believes, like Pierre Fitzgibbon, that “we know absolutely nothing about lithium hydroxide [et que nous] know absolutely nothing about cathodes, ”he replies tit for tat that this is not true.
” It’s wrong. It’s archival. I invite him to redo his homework. We have experts who advise the whole world on lithium hydroxide, ”he says.
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