After four years in power | Has the Legault government kept its promises?

“One hundred percent” of the promises of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) will be realized, said Premier François Legault at the start of his mandate. Four years later, about half of the CAQ promises will be fully realized, 20% will be partially and 30% will be broken, experts estimate. The chief caquiste records a result similar to that of previous governments but lower than that of Philippe Couillard, who however did not have to manage a pandemic. Overview as the CAQ meets in a pre-election convention this weekend.

Tommy Chouinard
The Press

In the average

Saturday, the CAQ organizes a panel on “the importance of electoral promises” on the occasion of its congress. The party had invited Polimeter experts, who meticulously track governments’ electoral commitments, but they declined the invitation to preserve their independence, says Lisa Birch, executive director of the University’s Center for Public Policy Analysis. Laval. According to her, the share of promises kept by the CAQ will be “lower” than that of the previous Liberal government, when Philippe Couillard had carried out in whole or in part 81% of his 158 promises (including 59% fully). However, the CAQ has made more commitments, 251. At present, on its website, the Polimètre figures the proportion of promises fully fulfilled at 46%, those that are partially fulfilled at 14% and those that have been fulfilled at 3%. are broken. Some 31% of commitments are on track and 6% are pending, but “the majority” of these are likely to be broken at the end of the term “because there is not enough action to say that these promises are even partially fulfilled,” explains Polimeter data scientist Alexandre Fortier-Chouinard.

The Polimeter can give a taste of the final result of the Legault government right now, especially since there are only two weeks of session and three months of mandate left. His conclusion: “It is expected that, for the Legault government, the result will be very similar to the results of previous governments. We find ourselves in the waters of more or less 50% of promises fully realized, 20% partially and 30% broken”, maintains Alexandre Fortier-Chouinard. How does François Legault compare to other prime ministers who have had to deal with a pandemic? According to the Polimeter, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who is currently campaigning, has fully realized 37% of his 136 promises and 42% partially, while 21% have been broken.

Tax burden and economy

As promised, and faster than expected, the Legault government has put money back in the pockets of taxpayers. The $8 billion surplus left by Philippe Couillard’s Liberals made his job easier. The caquistes have reduced the school tax by 600 million with the introduction of a single rate. They have increased family allowances by 800 million. They restored the single rate for daycare services, eliminating the additional contribution modulated according to income. They have increased support for children with disabilities and support for the elderly. In terms of the economy, the government delivered the reform of Investissement Québec, developed the electric transportation sector and began to create innovation zones.

Promises kept and broken in health

The CAQ has increased health spending by more than 4.1% per year. She has invested more than promised in home care, but the waiting list for service has grown. Quebec is on track to meet its commitment to deliver 2,600 places in the fall in seniors’ homes, but with a much higher bill than expected. Quebec has raised the legal age to consume cannabis to 21. He capped hospital parking fees at $10 a day. Quebec has restored free for an in vitro fertilization cycle. However, not all Quebecers have access to a family doctor – nearly 1 million people are still on the waiting list. The maximum period of 36 hours to consult a doctor has not been reached. The government has not reduced the average wait time to see a doctor in the emergency room to 90 minutes. It’s almost 150 minutes in fact. The average length of a stretcher stay in the emergency room reached 17 hours and 36 minutes, far from the target set. After promising to slash $1 billion per year in the remuneration of medical specialists, François Legault has concluded an agreement which represents savings far below his commitment. It did not abolish “compulsory overtime” and did not review the patient-to-nurse ratio.

Education and childcare

François Legault has staked his seat on this promise: to offer 4-year-old kindergarten to everyone, everywhere in Quebec. However, the 2600 necessary classes are still not there. There will be 1610 at the start of the school year. It will take two more years – or even longer – to achieve the promised goal. Quebec increased the salaries of teachers at the start of their careers. He abolished school elections and transformed school boards into school service centers – except in the Anglophone network, where it is the status quo. Quebec has launched a school renovation project, but the maintenance deficit of the school building stock has increased over the years. He has increased spending on education by at least 3.5% per year. Quebec has just adopted the law to create a National Student Protector. It did not set a floor for professional services in schools. Quebec had undertaken to “considerably” reduce the waiting list for obtaining a place in daycare. However, there are 50,000 children on this list when there were 42,000 in 2018. The Legault government has not managed to create all the new places it promised at the start of its mandate.

Identity and nationalism

With the adoption of Bill 96, a position of French language commissioner was created and the mandate of the Office de la langue française was strengthened. Bill 101 will apply to federally chartered businesses, such as banks, airlines and telecommunications companies. Also in keeping with the promises, the government banned the wearing of religious symbols by state agents with coercive power (police, prison guards, judges and Crown prosecutors) and teachers. It reduced the number of new arrivals from 50,000 to 40,000, but for only one year. He imposed a test of Quebec values ​​on newcomers, less restrictive than expected. In its relations with Ottawa, the Legault government has not made the gains foreseen in its “Nationalist Plan”. For example, there is no single tax return, while Quebec has not obtained more powers in immigration and culture. The Trudeau and Legault governments nevertheless signed a few administrative agreements, including one on the appointment of a Quebec judge to the Supreme Court.

Governance

It was the CAQ’s first bill: the appointments of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, the head of the Sûreté du Québec and the head of the UPAC are now made with the support of two-thirds of the deputies of the National Assembly rather than being the sole prerogative of the government. The Caquists, however, broke their electoral promise to review the voting system. The promised parliamentary reform has been tabled, but the file has not progressed at all. François Legault promised, for example, to set up a mechanism of free votes and the obligation to allow the study by the National Assembly of a predetermined number of opposition bills. The CAQ has done nothing to improve the protection of whistleblowers. The number of civil servants in the ministries has increased by nearly 4,000 – from 68,618 in 2018-2019 to 72,554 FTE (full-time equivalents) in 2021-2022 – while the CAQ had promised to reduce administrative positions by 5,000. The government has not changed the selection process for administrative judges.

Transport and municipalities

There is no “construction start” of the third link, contrary to the CAQ promise. The new version of the Quebec-Lévis tunnel project was presented this spring and much information is still unknown. Quebec gave the green light to the extension of the blue line of the Montreal metro last spring. But the “REM de l’Est”, which is now managed by the government and the City rather than by the Caisse de depot et placement, is currently being revised. Quebec ceded a share of QST revenues to municipalities. It is in the process of making high-speed Internet accessible throughout the region. He created a fund to preserve religious heritage.

Environment

The CAQ had spoken very little about the environment during the 2018 campaign. François Legault’s party had nevertheless committed to respecting “the major objectives for the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs) adopted by the international community”. Quebec has tabled a green plan whose objective is to reduce GHG emissions by 37.5% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Experts have argued that the measures announced will not be enough to achieve it. In addition, Quebec has entered into a hydroelectricity export contract with the State of New York.