{"id":212,"date":"2015-06-26T15:01:14","date_gmt":"2015-06-26T15:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arcticincontext.com\/?p=212"},"modified":"2021-07-11T23:23:25","modified_gmt":"2021-07-11T23:23:25","slug":"plan-nord-a-model-for-sustainable-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/aic\/2015\/06\/26\/plan-nord-a-model-for-sustainable-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Plan Nord: A Model for Sustainable Development"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Will Becker<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Tuesday June 23,\u00a0World Policy Institute and the Government of Qu\u00e9bec held a private breakfast and discussion featuring the Premier of Qu\u00e9bec, Philippe Couillard. The event was part of the Arctic Deeply Roundtables initiative, which seeks to engage leading experts and investors on the most pressing issues of our time, including\u00a0sustainable development in the region.<\/p>\n

Couillard began the discussion by outlining Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s capacity for Arctic development. The province holds 3 percent of the world\u2019s renewable freshwater, which has already been put to sustainable use through its hydroelectric industry. Ninety-eight percent of energy in the region now comes from this hydroelectricity,\u00a0and many Qu\u00e9becois companies boast of their wind power capabilities as well. Currently, Qu\u00e9bec is home to several specialized centers like the TechnoCentre\u00a0\u00c9olien, which focuses on wind power, as well as the Canada Research Chair on Nordic Environment Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines (\u00c9TS), the Anti-Icing Materials International Laboratory (UQAC) and the Wind Energy Research Laboratory (UQAR). And there is tremendous room for growth across this sector.<\/p>\n

After laying out the province\u2019s capabilities, the Premier\u2019s presentation focused on Plan Nord, the Qu\u00e9bec government\u2019s proposal to develop the\u00a0Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois\u00a0region north of the 49th parallel. The plan encourages sustainable development, particularly in the more remote areas of the province that are\u00a0rich in resources but currently lacking infrastructure and investment.<\/p>\n

\"Plan<\/p>\n

Joe Cari, Philippe Couillard, and Sherle Schwenninger<\/em><\/p>\n

Plan Nord is extensive in scope. Under the plan, the Government of Qu\u00e9bec will support development on 745,645 square miles of territory, the equivalent of two Texases. It will center on building digital (telecom and Internet access) and physical (roads and mining\/energy industry) infrastructure.\u00a0Couillard confirmed the newly created Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 du Plan Nord would coordinate the development of the plan and that Investissement Qu\u00e9bec\u00a0would work with private investors to finance it.\u00a0The government-run financing corporation\u00a0\u2013\u00a0which describes itself as a type of bank that undertakes higher risk investments than others \u2013\u00a0assures that investment in the\u00a0Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois\u00a0region does not rely solely on subsidies.\u00a0Instead,\u00a0the government will become a\u00a0\u2018partner\u2019\u00a0in investment, and carefully advise development in the region. As of 2015, 17 public and private mining projects are already in the appraising\/development phase in Plan Nord and could generate more than $22 billion in investments. By 2035, that amount of investment is\u00a0projected<\/a>\u00a0to reach $50 billion.<\/p>\n

Couillard plans to implement Plan Nord in cooperation with the First Nations indigenous to Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s northern territory, including the Naskapi, Cree, Algonquin, and Innus. In order to secure their cooperation, 50 percent of the total territory will be protected from industrial activity. The Boreal Forest Conservation Framework, which aims to sustain both the cultural and ecological integrity of the region, will spearhead these protection efforts. Moreover, he explained that any mining or exploitation of natural resources included in Plan Nord will be done responsibly and in complete collaboration with the people who live there. But in spite of these positive steps forward, some challenges remain.<\/p>\n

A number of the First Nations have not signed the 1975 James Bay Treaty. The treaty is an agreement between the Government of Qu\u00e9bec and the Cree, Inuit, and Naskapi, which places the land in Northern Qu\u00e9bec into three different managerial categories. In the first category, 8,699 square miles of land falls entirely under indigenous control. But almost 60 percent of the total land under the James Bay Treaty, or 564,205 square miles, falls under the jurisdiction of the Government of Qu\u00e9bec. This area does not require First Nation consent for Plan Nord to move forward. However, the government still needs to negotiate with several indigenous groups not covered by the treaty, in order for the entire project to proceed.<\/p>\n

\"Plan<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges of negotiating with so many different parties, Couillard said he remained optimistic. He noted that Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s changing natural environment might in fact provide new opportunities for development. Couillard explained that climate change could provide new economic opportunities\u2014melting ice caps\u00a0in the Arctic could generate new shipping and trade opportunities, allow for the expansion of the clean-energy sector, and encourage infrastructure construction in previously inaccessible areas. In fact, 70,000 jobs have already been created in clean energy and climate adaptation sectors, according to Couillard, and Plan Nord stands to continue that upward trend.<\/p>\n

Couillard\u2019s overall portrait of Plan Nord is one that promises great rewards yet remains complex in its breadth and potential magnitude. In short, though the program faces challenges in its implementation, it has emerged as one of the most attractive investment opportunities in North America and as a leading model for sustainable development. His optimistic vision demonstrates that Qu\u00e9bec and Arctic states alike can achieve productive, profitable development while adequately addressing the negative environmental and cultural impacts that have normally been associated with large-scale development projects. Though inevitably compromises will have to made, Couillard assured the audience on Tuesday morning that Plan Nord would work to minimize any harmful outcomes.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Will Becker is an editorial assistant at\u00a0<\/em>World Policy Journal.<\/p>\n

[Photos by Westerly Gorayeb]<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on the World Policy Institute website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Will Becker On Tuesday June 23,\u00a0World Policy Institute and the Government of Qu\u00e9bec held a private breakfast and discussion featuring the Premier of Qu\u00e9bec, Philippe Couillard. The event was part of the Arctic Deeply Roundtables initiative, which seeks to engage leading experts and investors on the most pressing issues of our time, including\u00a0sustainable development<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[11,6,4],"class_list":["post-212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-canada","tag-economic-development","tag-indigenous"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/aic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/aic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/aic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/aic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/aic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/aic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1788,"href":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/aic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212\/revisions\/1788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/aic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/aic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/aic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/aic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}