Negotiations and strikes in the public sector have monopolized attention for several weeks. State employees want to improve their conditions and that is normal. The focus on the public sector makes us forget the importance of having a healthy private sector if we want to pay for all this.
When the public sector monopolizes the discussion, even the word private becomes suspicious. The private sector is the threat, the scarecrow representing what we must be wary of. However, a healthy private economy is the only basis for financing solid public services… with well-treated employees.
Entrepreneurship on the decline
I was concerned this week by the figures from the SME Research Institute. The desire to become an entrepreneur is seriously declining among Quebecers and particularly among young people. At the same time, we are seeing a decline in confidence that good business opportunities exist in Quebec.
- Listen to the interview with Luc Lafrance, president and CEO of the Fédération des transporters par bus, on Mario Dumont via QUB radio :
This is bad news. Especially since we already lack entrepreneurs and an entire generation is preparing to retire. Failing to find succession here, they will sell their business, too often to foreign interests. For Quebec, this means a loss of control over the future of our businesses and future profits flying away to other skies.
Entrepreneurs have been hit by the pandemic. Their loans are being hit by rising interest rates. They operate in a context of great economic uncertainty. My goal is not to cry over their fate, but only to recall the conditions for a healthy economy.
The investment figures are also worrying. For five years, public investments have largely exceeded private investments in non-residential sectors in Quebec.
When we add up construction, renovations or the purchase of major equipment, governments invest more than the sum of all private companies. This is not normal and it is also contrary to the Canadian average of recent years.
PHOTO AGENCY QMI, MARIO BEAUREGARD
Huge public sector
The strikers were delighted this week to feel strong support from the public. The support is real, but we cannot ignore the fact that the public sector in Quebec is a lot of people. The State plays a major role in our economy.
Add up the employees of the Quebec government, state corporations, the federal government, municipalities, school service centers. While you’re at it, add the employees of organizations whose almost all revenue comes from the state. Include their immediate family, you just have a large part of Quebec’s working population.
In the last decade, the number of employees has increased much faster in the public sector than in the private sector. Worse, the number of self-employed workers has fallen by 10%!
I understand that the urgency of the moment is to resolve the inventions of the public sector. I ring a bell on the importance of a strong private economy to support all of this.
