(Québec) Québec solidaire is asking the Legault government to deliver the “greenest budget in the history of Québec” so that the province can achieve its climate targets.
Posted at 4:54 p.m.
“This is the last chance budget in the fight against climate change. Can the Prime Minister […] ask its Minister of Finance to table the greenest budget in Quebec’s history? That’s what we need, ”said QS parliamentary leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois on Wednesday during question period.
Mr. Nadeau-Dubois noted that Finance Minister Eric Girard announced the date of the budget on Tuesday, and that these three priorities would be health, education and the economy with measures to deal with the cost of living. “It’s rather good priorities […] but I think there was something missing, though. It starts with an e, it ends with a t and it does not interest the Prime Minister: the environment, ”he denounced.
The Press revealed last week that the Legault government’s promise to put 1.5 million electric cars on the road would not even achieve half of the 2030 climate target in the transport sector. A document produced by the Ministry of the Environment also confirms that the new strategy to force dealers to sell more zero-emission vehicles will not have any significant effect for eight years.
A target that will be expensive, says Legault
For Québec solidaire, this means that Prime Minister Legault is sailing “from failure to failure”. “It will miss its oil consumption target, it will miss its greenhouse gas reduction target, it will miss its transport electrification targets. Failure, failure, failure,” cursed Mr. Nadeau-Dubois. To hit the target, he says, more needs to be done.
François Legault replied by praising the record of Quebec, which ranks “first, out of 60 states and provinces, for GHGs per capita”.
“Our government was the first government to table a plan to reduce GHGs in Quebec by 37.5%. It will cost 6.7 billion, ”pleaded Mr. Legault. “Québec solidaire tells us that they want to reduce actions by 55% and they have no idea, but really no idea how much it will cost, by how much taxes will have to be increased, in Quebec, who will pay to reduce GHGs by 55%,” he said.
Asked whether her government was going to do more for the environment, the President of the Treasury Board Sonia LeBel replied that “it is already doing quite a bit”. “I think we’re good at it,” she said. Finance Minister Eric Girard stressed for his part that it will be necessary to wait until March 22 to know all the orientations of his budget.