Prime Minister François Legault presented himself with an olive branch at the annual meetings of the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ).
Having become a believer in contrition, Mr. Legault apologized for having described as “beggars” the mayors who demanded more money from Quebec to absorb the operating deficit of their public transport companies rather than reduce their expenses, but he doesn’t think any less. He just sent them away more politely than last month.
“What I was clumsily trying to say is that there is no more room for maneuver in Quebec than there is in the municipalities,” he explained, nevertheless reiterating that he believed he had done enough to improve their lot since the Coalition Avenir Québec came to power.
Both parties were condemned to dialogue, even between deaf people.
The president of the UMQ, Martin Damphousse, had no other choice but to declare the incident closed, but he had to restrain himself so as not to repeat what he had replied the first time to this lecturer. . “No municipality has the right to run a deficit. […] Do the two governments above us have the same rules? They have incredible deficit records. It would perhaps be good for them to look at their side before coming to criticize us about the state of our finances,” he recalled.
The mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, did not hesitate to say that if the government has no room for maneuver, it is because it has distributed billions left and right under the pretext of to mitigate the harmful effects of inflation that it was fueling at the same time.
He could have added the tax cuts that Mr. Legault prides himself on – and that his Finance Minister, Eric Girard, intends to continue despite a deficit of 11 billion. In 2023 alone, the reduction of one percentage point in the first two tax brackets and the indexing of the tax system resulted in a reduction in the tax burden of $3.9 billion. During this time, property taxes increased by 3.9% in Quebec and 4.9% in Montreal.
The Prime Minister continually reminds us that at the end of the day, the money comes from the same pocket. In his mind, however, the art of politics seems to be to leave it to others to get involved and suffer the consequences.
He pointed to the remuneration of municipal employees, which he estimates to be 30% higher than that of state employees. However, he knows very well that it is practically impossible to reduce it, any more than his government was able to recover the billion that he himself promised to force doctors to reimburse.
When the mayors came knocking on her door, the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, told them that they had “full latitude to use their powers”. In other words, to tax more.
Last year, when the government authorized municipalities to increase the tax on vehicle registration on their territory, it nevertheless invited them to show the greatest restraint. Moreover, the high administrative costs imposed by the SAAQ are likely to moderate their appetite.
The reconciliation that took place at the UMQ congress resembles a declaration of peace between beggars. Because if the municipalities go to Quebec to beg, the same can be said of the incessant demands that the provinces make to Ottawa.
When the federal government only granted them a sixth of what they requested for funding health services, Mr. Legault could not contain his indignation. How could Justin Trudeau show such incomprehension in the face of such glaring needs? And if the federal deficit is so high, isn’t it because the Liberals are throwing money out the window?
In the eyes of mayors, he himself does not understand the challenges that public transportation, the housing crisis, homelessness and adaptation to climate change pose for municipalities. The problem is that there is no one below to whom they could pass the bill. Except the taxpayer, of course. Perhaps a fourth order of government should be created?
Ottawa still has its uses, to the extent that the beggars easily collude to rob the richest. Thus, Mr. Legault managed to sow good humor by announcing to the mayors that the dispute over the Gas Tax Program and Quebec’s contribution, which helps finance various municipal infrastructures, was “settled at 99 .9” without adding new conditions. Thanks to his remarkable tenacity, of course.