BOUCHERVILLE — Liberal leader Jean Charest had the Plan Nord. François Legault has the Projet St-Laurent, the St. Lawrence project.Legault kicked off a two-day general council meeting of Coalition Avenir Québec Saturday unwrapping a new economic development plan that he says will produce the quality jobs Quebec needs for the future.He described his vision as a kind of Silicon Valley to the north, focused on innovation, a place where universities and corporations work hand-in-hand to propel the economy forward.
“My dream is to make the St. Lawrence Valley a valley of innovation.”
Legault announced to 500 CAQ members in a morning speech. “The St. Lawrence Valley will be the starting point of a new conquest, not at the level of the continent but the planet.“Our southern neighbours created Silicon Valley. We will create a valley of innovation. It will speak French, it will have four seasons, it will be articulated around the St. Lawrence and will offer its inhabitants an exceptional quality of life.”
Legault said he has nothing against the Plan Nord — Charest’s grand scheme to open up Quebec’s vast north — but said it was focused on mineral development, which means the jobs will one day run dry.His plan is focused south, based in and around Montreal, Quebec, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières.He said it makes sense because 60 per cent of Quebec’s population lives in the valley itself. Eighty per cent of Quebecers live along the St. Lawrence, he added.At the same time, if elected, a CAQ government would revolutionize the way Quebec subsidizes industry.A CAQ government would cut the $4 billion in tax credits Quebec now grants companies in half, pouring the remaining $2 billion into new innovation projects.Legault described the current system as a kind of free-for-all “open bar,” which economists say does not yield results.He said he wants to increase investment in companies by 50 per cent over the next 10 years.Legault’s announcement is a departure for the CAQ, which campaigned in the 2012 election mainly on the themes of cleaning up government and ending waste.The party elected 19 MNAs, enough to hold the balance the power in the National Assembly and the title of second opposition party.In a February poll conducted by Léger Marketing, support for the party was pegged at 20 per cent. A CROP poll at about the same time gave the CAQ 28 per cent.But Legault explained at a news conference after the speech that the CAQ’s first foray into the grand “vision” thing is designed to show Quebecers it has forward-looking ideas for the period after the clean up.It also shows what a party can do that is not obsessed by constitutional options or sovereignty, he added.“Yes, we talked a lot in the campaign about fighting corruption and against waste,” Legault said. “What we want to add, not replace, is a vision for the future.“I think the Projet St-Laurent gives a perspective on what we could do after succeeding in giving good health services and education.“The cleanup is a pre-requisite, it precedes the Projet St-Laurent.”
And he told party members this will be a big year for his party.
“Like the Montreal Canadiens, we are going to surprise everyone in 2013,” Legault said.
“In a short period, we can say we earned the respect of Quebecers. Today the coalition holds the balance of power and is a political force that cannot be overlooked.”
He said it’s time Quebecers put aside defeatist attitudes and think big.
And venturing onto terrain that has been considered Liberal, Legault boldly declared: “The Coalition Avenir Québec is the party of the economy.”
And he said he includes the anglophone community in the new economic vision.
“I ask you to trust us, to partner with us to make Quebec a place we can all be proud of,” Legault said switching to English in his speech. “A place where our children will want to remain or return.
“We are all Quebecers and the St. Lawrence River belongs to all of us.”
Legault was unable to provide much detailed information about the plan at his news conference, but said more will follow in the coming days. He said the party hired a consulting firm that has plotted areas for new industrial parks.
But he said it’s not a question about the quantity of jobs the new plan will create. What matters is the quality of the jobs.
He said many countries have recognized the key to the future is to better connect universities to companies and entrepreneurs.
The British, he noted, created Tech City in east London and today 200 companies are working there.
Quebec, he said, has all the components to make it work, including world-class universities like McGill and the Université de Montréal.
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