When it comes to subsidies, Ottawa and Quebec should support Canadian companies before giving subsidies to foreign companies to develop the battery sector, argues Laurent Ferreira.

The President and CEO of the National Bank is “not a big fan of subsidies to lure foreign companies into the country.” In a speech on Thursday at the Montreal Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (CCMM), he expressed his opinion to 1,300 people from the business community.

“In the long term, I don’t think it’s a good idea to tax Canadian companies more and subsidize Stellantis and Volkswagen,” he says.

The chamber’s president and CEO, Michel Leblanc, appeared surprised by his guest’s comments. He mentioned that this type of government intervention has some support in the business community.

In a joking tone, Mr. Leblanc nevertheless pointed out that the two projects mentioned were in Ontario. “Okay, this is in Ontario, I definitely agree with you,” he said, sparking laughter in the room.

In an interview on the sidelines of his speech, Mr. Ferreira clarified that this comment also applies to subsidies for the battery sector deployed in Quebec.

The federal government and Quebec should instead prioritize supporting Canadian companies, says the businessman. “My point is that when we give subsidies to foreign companies, they go directly into the pockets of foreign shareholders, most of whom are not Canadian. I doubt that this model will help create wealth in the long term. »

He adds that the Canadian economy needs more investment in Canada. He is referring to a comment by his chief economist Stéfane Marion, who spoke at the same event, that large Canadian pension plans were not investing adequately in Canada.

Mr Ferreira’s intervention comes at a time when governments are deploying billions of dollars to attract foreign companies to the battery sector.

Canada could spend nearly $13 billion on Volkswagen’s project to build an electric vehicle battery factory in St. Thomas, Ontario. Aid to Stellantis for its battery factory in Windsor could reach 15 billion.

Quebec is not left out. Ottawa and Quebec have awarded $640 million in aid for the Ford plant in Bécancour. GM-Posco, in turn, benefited from support from both levels of government totaling almost 300 million.

The Legault government is reportedly close to formalizing the construction of a project by Swedish cell manufacturer Northvolt in the Vallée-du-Richelieu and is expecting significant budget support.

Prime Minister François Legault defended his government’s approach in early September. “Every time the government provides aid to a company, we ensure that the benefit to Quebecers exceeds that amount of aid. We must understand that the manufacturing sector and its repositioning are currently in a difficult phase. Thinking that doing nothing and waiting would be a good idea would be a mistake in my opinion. »

“Law 96” hurts

Mr. Ferreira also ventured into other political terrain. In his speech, he explained that it was important to protect French, but the regulatory context was “difficult”.

When asked about this topic, he was more explicit in the interview. “I was referring primarily to the regulatory context that 96 imposes on companies,” he replies.

There Law respecting the official and common language of Quebec, French, or “Law 96”, “anxious fear” in the business world, judges the French-speaking banker. “We got hurt. »

Mr Ferreira reiterated that he agreed with the aim of protecting the French language, “a jewel”. “That’s not my point [la loi] 96 is a bad thing, he adds. That’s not it at all, that’s the approach we took [qui pose problème].

“We are creating a higher level of complexity for companies in Quebec compared to the rest of companies in North America, rather than finding a way to attract talent and say we want to grow in Quebec and do more together.” Talent and capital had Fear. »