Former premier Lucien Bouchard made a fiery return to Quebec's legislature and launched a pair of impassioned defences Tuesday: first, of the province's beleaguered natural-gas industry and, then, of himself.
Bouchard, who now heads a natural-gas association, was appearing before a parliamentary committee to demand compensation for companies whose projects are suspended for environmental reasons.
The popular ex-premier said Quebec would be sending a frightening message, and discourage outside investors, by suspending projects without some form of compensation.
Bouchard's appearance devolved into a near-shouting match with the leader of one party -- the tiny left-wing Quebec solidaire.
Bouchard was accused by Amir Khadir of betraying the interests of Quebecers.
That's when the ex-Parti Quebecois premier lost his temper.
"Am I here to be subjected to the moral judgments of this man? Is that the way things work now in this chamber?" said Bouchard, now president of the Quebec Oil and Gas Association.
"(He has) no right. No right," he added, pounding his fist on the table.
"He's stepped outside the boudaries."
The province has slowed down development of its considerable shale-gas deposits, amid signs of potential environmental problems.
Reports of spillage at sites in Quebec, and even worse environmental damage in the United States, have prompted a public backlash that pressured the government to scale back its ambitions.
Those problems prompted the gas industry to pin its hopes on Bouchard -- perhaps the province's most popular living politician.
But not even his involvement appears to have calmed the passions of the industry's opponents.
Some protesters, who are marching through the province to protest the industry, are threatening civil disobedience.
One spokesman for a protest group said this week that he plans to disrupt extraction sites in order to pressure companies to drop their development plans.
Khadir has been among the most vocal critics of shale-gas development.
On Tuesday he took a personal shot at Bouchard during the parliamentary hearing: "(He) was not faithful to his vow to serve the public good," Khadir said of the former premier.
What followed was a loud, cacophonous exchange involving Khadir, Bouchard, and the committee chairman.
The chairman, a Pequiste who served in Bouchard's caucus, appeared to defend his ex-boss. He also reprimanded the leader of Quebec solidaire.
"Yes, certain things are different around here since the last election," Claude Pinard said, referring the recently-elected Khadir.
"We're trying our best to maintain decorum."
Bouchard was trying to get compensation for companies with drilling rights in one spot on the St. Lawrence River, near Anticosti Island, where activities have been suspended.
