Accroître la richesse des Québécois passe par une meilleure productivité des entreprises. Le budget propose une stratégie en recherche et innovation pour y arriver. Toutefois, ce sont des moyens pour atténuer les effets de la pénurie de main-d’œuvre que les associations patronales attendaient.
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Cette stratégie constitue la principale mesure s’adressant aux entreprises dans le budget du ministre des Finances, Eric Girard. Le gouvernement réserve un budget de 1,3 milliard en cinq ans : 280 millions pendant les trois premières années, à compter de 2022-2023, puis 230 millions par la suite.
Elle vise à financer la recherche, favoriser la commercialisation des découvertes et soutenir l’entrepreneuriat technologique. En plus de cette somme de 1,3 milliard, le gouvernement débloque 600 millions pour soutenir la création d’entreprises innovantes, dont 500 millions à un fonds de capital d’investissement et 100 millions dans le Programme impulsion PME.
Cette stratégie découle d’un exercice de consultation récent qui a gravité autour de la tenue du Grand Rendez-Vous de l’innovation québécoise.
Le budget Girard laisse toutefois les associations patronales sur leur faim. Pour la Fédération canadienne de l’entreprise indépendante (FCEI), on ne fait rien pour alléger le fardeau fiscal des PME et régler la crise de la pénurie de main-d’œuvre.
« On s’attendait à plus, affirme François Vincent, vice-président pour le Québec de l’organisation. Le fardeau fiscal des PME est le plus lourd au Canada. L’inflation touche aussi les entreprises. Certaines ne fonctionnent pas à plein régime, et c’est parce qu’elles manquent de personnel et qu’elles sont surtaxées. »
Le discours est similaire chez Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec (MEQ). Sa présidente-directrice générale, Véronique Proulx, aurait aimé voir des incitatifs financiers pour favoriser la régionalisation des travailleurs immigrants.
« Il y a plus de [31 000] vacancies in the manufacturing sector and there is nothing in the budget to fill them, she laments. Manufacturers are operating in an unprecedented context of galloping inflation, labor shortages and disruption in supply chains. »
Another aid measure, the government is extending by one year the temporary improvement of the tax credit relating to investment and innovation (C3i) which was to end on December 31, 2022. The new deadline is December 31 2023. A business, for example, that buys equipment to improve its productivity can receive a tax credit twice as large as before the enhancement. Eligibility conditions apply.
Regional air transport: towards cheaper tickets
The Government of Quebec has made its nest and will soon unveil its strategy for regional air transport. The objective is to offer regional travelers competitive fares. We do not yet know the model chosen by the government. Details will be revealed soon.
The objective, they say in Finance, is to work directly with the air carriers so that they can offer discounts to travelers to the regions. The government is setting aside $234 million over five years for this purpose.
“The sums that are there are very interesting, says the president of the Union of Quebec municipalities and mayor of Gaspé, Daniel Côté. The government wants to support existing carriers and that will help. »
In 2022-2023, the government is maintaining its emergency assistance to regional carriers and airports for the last time. This boost, estimated at 21 million, serves to maintain a minimum of interregional air services despite the drop in ridership attributable to the pandemic.
Starting in 2022-2023, this temporary assistance will be replaced by a five-year program.
The government justifies its intervention in this sector of activity to ensure that isolated and island communities receive their supplies and that essential workers arrive there.
More direct international flights from Montreal
After the establishment of direct flights between Montreal and Japan and China, Quebec wants to see new destinations accessible by direct flights from Jean-Lesage and Montreal-Trudeau airports. A sum of 10 million will be devoted to financing the canvassing efforts of those in charge of the tourist industry with the carriers and port authorities concerned.
The Quebec government is of the opinion that better international air service resulting in more operators, increased flight frequency and reduced flight time promotes the competitiveness of economic players.
Go through customs at Central Station
Have you ever taken the train to New York? If so, you know that the trip is endless, especially because of the one to two hour delay to clear customs. The government is going to fund a feasibility study to design a US pre-clearance service area like you find at Montreal-Trudeau airport when travelers fly to the United States.