Last week, Quebec Premier François Legault said, regarding the attempted resumption of the Energy East pipeline project, that he did not want Canada’s “dirty energy” to flow through Quebec.

I disagree with such unproductive language, which could unfortunately make someone believe that Quebecers lack any consideration for the importance of the oil and gas industry — not only for the Prairie provinces but for the country as a whole.

Premier Legault made this statement a couple of days before the federal government announced that Quebec would cash in $1.4 billion more in equalization payments next year. The province will receive 66 per cent of all equalization payments for 2019-20, while its economy and its public finances are in better shape than ever. I can understand the frustration, the anger even, in other parts of the country.

A few days ago, I was part of a group of senators who met First Nations’ and Métis representatives, for whom oil and gas is a source of great hope. They designed what they claim to be an environmentally friendly pipeline project, Eagle Spirit, that would transport oil from Fort McMurray in Alberta to the northern coast of British Columbia, at which point it would be exported. The chiefs are concerned that this project will have to be abandoned if the tanker ban on the northern coast of B.C., envisaged by the Trudeau government, is implemented.

“We do not want to keep begging, pleaded one elder. We have the opportunity to gain a little money in order to alleviate poverty in our communities and build proper infrastructure. We’re doing this for our children. Won’t you open the door? This is all we ask!”

For many Alberta and B.C. First Nations, oil, as long as it is in high demand, is not “dirty energy.” It is an opportunity to improve lives. And no one can accuse of them of not caring about the environment.

Due to the lack of new pipelines to carry its oil to markets, Alberta’s economy is suffering. From 2013 to last month, its unemployment rate increased from 3.9 per cent to 6.3 per cent. Meanwhile, Quebec’s unemployment rate slid from 6.6 per cent to 5.4 per cent. Minimally, Premier Legault should demonstrate more empathy towards the Prairies’ difficulties.

Even if the overwhelming proportion of its energy comes from hydraulic sources, when it comes to transportation purposes, Québec is as dependent on oil as any other region in the country. From 2013 to 2017, the sale of gasoline in the province increased at a faster rate than in the country as a whole — 7.7 per cent, to 8.8 million litres. A significant proportion of this gasoline is refined in Quebec from oil bought in the Prairies. Would Premier Legault dare to fault Quebecers for burning “dirty energy”?

The Premier is correct in saying that Energy East, a project that some of his provincial counterparts would like to resurrect, has no social acceptability in Quebec. The main reason for this is that the proponent did a very poor job of explaining and selling the project to Quebecers in its early stages.

Still, if ever TransCanada’s interest in Energy East is reignited, the very least the Government of Quebec could commit to is to examine the project’s impact on the economy and the environment, thoroughly and in good faith.

This is a matter of solidarity with other regions of the country. It is also more consistent with Premier Legault’s ambition to sell Quebec electricity to other provinces. In a natural resources-rich country like Canada, energy trade and transportation should not be a one-way street.

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André Pratte is an Independent Senator from Quebec.

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