Plug in. Point up. Power on.

In Quebec most of us rent. Close to two in three Montrealers don't own the roof over their head. Our power is cheap, and that's something to be proud of. But cheap power you can only ever buy isn't quite the same as power you can make. Plug-in solar is how a renter on a triplex balcony finally gets to be a little more than a customer.

It's pretty much what it sounds like. Small solar panels you plug into a regular wall outlet, like an appliance. You hang them on a balcony, a wall, or a railing, plug them in, and that's about it. Usually no electrician, no roof work, no permits. They quietly make power and send it straight into your home. Germany has more than a million of them. It's safe, it's proven, and it works everywhere it's allowed.

Quebec gets more sun than Germany, where over a million balconies already make their own power. We've got the sunshine, we just don't have the panels, because nobody here has written the simple rules to allow them. We've done this kind of thing before, mind you. Quebec already gave people le droit à la recharge, the right to plug in the car. It's about time we had le droit au solaire.

So we're asking Quebec to write the simple rules, through the Régie du bâtiment and Hydro-Québec, that turn a certified plug-in panel from a grey area into a clear right. Un droit au solaire, for every balcony that wants one.