QUEBEC CITY – Aluminum giant Alcoa is threatening to close three Quebec plants if electricity rates go up. The company, which employs 3,300 Quebecers in Baie-Comeau, Bécancour and Deschambault, buys power from Hydro Quebec at a preferential rate. That rate is scheduled to go up more than one per cent per kilowatt hour in 2015. Alcoa refusing to absorb the increase sparked a crisis at the National Assembly.
“It’s a real catastrophe,” said Liberal opposition leader Jean-Marc Fournier, adding thousands of spin-off jobs are also at stake.
At issue is Hydro Quebec’s plan to raise Alcoa’s electricity rates by 60 per cent or $220 million a year. Alcoa is currently in talks with the Marois government. But on Tuesday the company broke loose and threatened to shut down operations if tariffs are raised.
“I have had several discussions with all the aluminum producers regarding those tariffs and we are perfectly aware of the fact this is an important component of the cost for producing aluminum and we want to find solutions,” said Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau.
The Coalition Avenir Québec charged Parti Québécois ministers don’t have any real business experience.
“They are a group of theorists,” said CAQ leader François Legault. “They spent so much time in the last couple of months trying to prepare for an electoral campaign on the famous Charter of Quebec Values that they forgot about the real economy.”
The Natural Resources minister had a particularly bad day. Martine Ouellet is also the minister driving the mining reform. Bill 43 is the National Assembly’s third attempt at adopting new rules for mining. It failed spectacularly on Wednesday, when opposition parties joined forces against Ouellet and defeated her bill.
“We are for transformation, but not give a veto right to Mrs. Ouellet, we don’t have any confidence in her,” said Legault.
Ouellet argued opposition parties were being “selfish.”
“I always said that I was opened, that we could work together. Unfortunately they decided to just be really partisan,” she said.
On both issues, the Liberals said Quebec risks losing out to countries offering more attractive packages, such as the United States.
“Quebec has been moved now to the high-risk category in terms of investments because of all these uncertainties,” said Liberal leader Philippe Couillard.
Premier Pauline Marois promised to get personally involved should negotiations with Alcoa stall.
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