Québec solidaire (QS) is not waiting for the return to Parliament on Tuesday in the National Assembly to propose measures to help Quebecers cope with the dizzying rise in the cost of living.
On Sunday, the party’s finance officer and new deputy for Maurice-Richard, Haroun Bouazzi, called on the Legault government to invite it to take advantage of the economic update that will be presented on December 8 “to index biannual benefits from the Government of Quebec so that they better reflect the evolution of inflation”.
This QS proposal thus targets benefits from the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP), public sector retirement pensions, CNESST benefits in the event of work , student financial assistance (AFE), solidarity tax credit, social assistance and compensation for victims of crime (IVAC).
In interview at The Canadian PressQuébec solidaire’s spokesperson for the economy, innovation, energy and finance, declared that an annual indexation is not enough in the current inflationary circumstances.
“This year’s inflation adjustment will be made next year. However, throughout the year, the people who are entitled to these benefits are the people who need them the most at the moment”, underlined Mr. Bouazzi.
“These are in particular retirees with very little income. As they do not see their income indexed during the year, they suffer from inflation for the full year. […] We think it is the duty of Quebec to allow them to breathe along the way”.
For his part, the Minister of Finance of Quebec, Éric Girard, recently opened the door to a form of financial support for businesses to help them cope with inflation.
The government of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) is also moving forward with its election promise to help individuals cope with the rising cost of living. More than 6.5 million taxpayers will receive one-time assistance this month ranging between $400 and $600, depending on their income for the year 2021.
However, this does not satisfy Québec solidaire, which believes that this non-recurring form of assistance will not achieve the objective.
“The person who earns $90,000, and whose spouse earns $400,000, will still receive a check for $400. It’s irresponsible! We need to be much more targeted in the help we give to households. You have to be careful in times of inflation when you inject money into the economy,” adds Mr. Bouazzi.
“Tax cuts are the same thing. People earning $400,000 or $1 million a year will also be eligible for the tax cuts that are brewing for next year. It’s irresponsible. We think that it is absolutely necessary to target the people who suffer the most from the consequences of inflation,” he insisted.
“Indexing pensions twice a year is a minimum to better protect seniors from inflation. The federal pension is indexed four times a year and I can’t believe that we are not able in Quebec to do it at least twice a year,” added Sherbrooke MNA Christine Labrie, responsible for solidarity-related files. to seniors, by press release.
During the election campaign that ended on October 3, all the parties represented in the National Assembly made the fight against inflation one of their main priorities during the next parliamentary session.
Even if this session will be of very short duration, QS intends to tackle several major issues on Tuesday to help the wallets of Quebecers who need it most. The proposal to index Québec government benefits twice a year is only part of the proposals that Québec solidaire intends to put forward.
The party will also propose the implementation of government policies to regulate the costs of rents, public transport and state services.
“The costs of school, CPE, driving licenses, etc., we would like there to be a price freeze and not just a 3% increase as the government is proposing”, explains the MP Haroun Bouazzi.
“Listen, at a time when food banks are no longer able to serve the entire population that comes to see them and when the percentage of Quebecers who are getting closer or who are downright bankrupt is increasing, it is not possible for us to remain silent in the face of a government that gives gifts to the richest”, he summed up.