(Quebec) The CAQ government has lost control of its spending and should take inspiration for its next budget from the former liberal government of Philippe Couillard in power from 2014 to 2018, believes Éric Duhaime.
The Conservative leader defended the Couillard government at a press briefing in Quebec on Thursday, often accused of having imposed budgetary austerity. In fact, Mr. Couillard has only slowed the growth of spending, according to Mr. Duhaime.
“When the Liberals came to power, they cleaned up public finances, and since the Coalition Avenir Québec has been here, it’s been a mess,” he said. How is it that in Quebec we have lost so much control over our spending? »
Mr. Duhaime cites the Association of Quebec Economists, which says it has observed growth in portfolio spending in Quebec of 42.5% in the last five years. This “explosion” of spending has not led to better services, he lamented.
To clean up public finances, Eric Duhaime’s Conservative Party is proposing, among other things, to reduce government subsidies for businesses and for the purchase of electric vehicles.
The PQ wants to recover money from Ottawa
For its part, the Parti Québécois of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon asks the Legault government to demonstrate transparency and to quantify in its next budget the cost of “successive refusals from Ottawa”.
He underlines in a press release that the government has requested 1 billion from the federal government for the reception of asylum seekers, but that it has so far only obtained 100 million. Furthermore, Quebec only received a sixth of what it asked for in health care.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon also recalls that the Quebec government is still waiting for a right of withdrawal with full compensation of 3 billion for the dental program.
“By kneeling before Ottawa, the result will always be the same and we must draw political conclusions,” he declared. The Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, will table the 2024-2025 budget next Tuesday.