9 Rona stores closed, Quebec invited to drop the hammer

The Parti Québécois and Québec Solidaire call on the government of François Legault to review the mandate of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec following the announcement by the American giant of the Lowe's equipment industry of nine stores Rona in Quebec.

The Caisse de dépôt must do more in the future to prevent Quebec companies from being sold to foreign interests, the parties said Monday.

Ruba Ghazal, Québec Solidaire's spokesman for the economy, called for the creation of a parliamentary commission and recalled that Legault's Coalition Avenir Quebéc strongly opposed the sale of Rona in 2016.

"There is an opportunity here to clarify the role of Investissement Québec and the Caisse de dépôt which should not be missed," Ghazal said in a statement. "Prime Minister Legault can prove that he is really different from the Liberal Party and explain his plan to protect local workers and suppliers."

Martin Ouellet, the PQ's finance critic, said the closures should not be a complete surprise because, according to him, the sale of Rona to Lowe was "a very bad deal" for Quebec.

Ouellet stated that the Caisse could have blocked the transaction at that time. He urged Legault to respond strongly to the news and take swift action to protect Quebec's commercial interests.

In 2016, Legault, then in opposition, denounced the sale of Rona as reducing the business landscape of Quebec to a "branch economy".

However, in September of this year, Christian Dubé, now Legault's President of the Treasury Board but formerly leader The Caisse, which has already held a stake in Rona, has stated that the sale was justified. He added that the Caisse managed to maintain a balance "between the economic development of Quebec and a return for depositors".

Given the nationalist tone of the Legault government, the PQ expects to see an "evolution" and "realization" on the part of its ministers.

"Remember that since its creation, the Caisse has always had two mandates: to properly manage the money entrusted to it by Quebeckers and to promote economic development," said Ouellet. "It is this second mandate that has failed.

"Given today's events, is Quebec's economy better? I expect a government that calls itself a nationalist to take strong action. "

The Legault government, represented by the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, was to react to the closures of Rona next Monday. Until now, the liberal opposition has made no comment.

This story will be updated.

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