Last week, Hydro-Québec CEO Sophie Brochu announced she would be leaving the company in April after three years at the helm. In less than 24 hours, Francois Legault and his Superminister Pierre Fitzgibbon Mme Brochu moved on to something else, like his legacy, to reassure the rating agencies and ensure that the thread of the story runs smoothly. The resignation of one of Quebec’s most powerful women from a semi-sacred institution is just one small blip in the quiet thread of the national narrative.
And yet we all have the painful impression that all is not said; The news broke in the public space, moved to the media, but it must have moved in the offices of power, behind closed doors.
We witnessed the final and flamboyant episode of the battle for supremacy between the two titans, clash Between two opposing visions of how hydro should change. Since we know nothing more from the protagonists of this remarkable affair, as the future of a flagship institution of the state of Quebec is at stake, let us try to fill in the blanks by resorting to a portrait analysis of the three main players: Mme Brochu, M. Fitzgibbon and Hydro-Quebec.
Sophie Brochu, 59, has for many years been a woman of head and heart who has been on the list of the most influential people in Quebec. She spent most of her professional career in the private sector, where she managed Gaz Metro/Énergir with skill and vision. Trained as an economist, she studied theater at the Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique de Quebec. His social involvement is consistent; She co-founded La Roulle de l’Avenir, which prevents school dropouts in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. She has strong networks, is admired for being upright and loyal to her values. She broke the glass ceiling a long time ago, but it wasn’t over. It has the financial means to undertake its positions. His project is to bring hydro to Quebec’s energy transition. Her exit was graceful: she left all the doors open. If she wants, we will demolish it in CAs and management positions.
Pierre Fitzgibbon, 68, also a wealthy independent, is a personal friend of the PM. A businessman, he heads the Super-Minister of Finance, Environment and Energy and the Minister responsible for Regional Development. He has been the subject of six investigations by the Ethics Commissioner, including one that fired him from the firm in June 2021. Stainless, he continues to hunt peacocks in festive attire with his billionaire friends. boy’s club On another level. The revelation struck a chord last fall, as this image of an untouchable rich man broke away from the good-natured and “normal” side of the Legault cabinet. Its aim is to use Hydro-Québec and our precious clean energy as a lure to attract energy-intensive companies to Quebec, in the wake of the government’s dissolution of Transition Energy Quebec.
The enigmatic Fitzgibbon now has free rein to realize his fantasy: closing our wealth gap with Ontario.
A third player is Hydro-Québec, the symbol of modern Quebec, a state within a state. Quebecers have an ambiguous relationship with hydro: pride/distrust. Opaque in its management, but virtuous on an international scale. Even the show I love Hydro, by Christine Beaulieu, is half respectful, half critical. Hydro is part of our daily lives, but it is a giant with questionable management. Hydro warms us, but flickers as soon as the wind rises. Quebec’s climate regime You never know who is leading the world under pressure, less today than ever, or what their future plans are.
Three images: two great servants of the state who can do other things, but dedicate themselves (or devote themselves) to the common good and society as the key to national identity. Three fates at the turning point of their history, our history, as it is about positioning Quebec for the next and crucial years.
Sophie Brochu wins: integrity, freedom, the future offers and a future she wants to be useful for, given her career.
Pierre Fitzgibbon won. His vision of hydro succeeds and Quebec follows suit.
Hydro-Québec has lost: a high-level leader and a certain responsible vision for the future. And certainly a little affection from its shareholders; Quebecois…
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