(Longueuil) Premier François Legault acknowledges that inflation is hitting households hard, but he has no intention of freezing rates or reducing the gas tax, as Conservative leader Éric Duhaime is calling for.
Posted at 6:45 p.m.
Passing through Longueuil to launch his candidate Shirley Dorismond’s campaign in the April 11 by-election in Marie-Victorin, Mr. Legault reiterated his intention to use the March 22 budget to hand out checks to taxpayers.
“I see the opposition suggesting freezes: freezing hydroelectricity (tariff) increases, freezing rents, removing gasoline taxes. I think what it means if we did that is that we would help more those who consume more. This is how we have acted until now, it is to give an amount which is fixed for everyone and which, therefore, benefits more the people who need it the most, who have less income », reaffirmed the Prime Minister, as he had done on February 25 in Repentigny.
“This is the approach we favor, so we do not favor freezing or removing taxes, which would benefit those who consume the most. »
Alberta’s Inadequate Example
Earlier in the day, Éric Duhaime had asked the CAQ government to imitate Alberta and temporarily suspend the provincial gas tax. The situation in Alberta, however, is quite different.
Such a suspension in Quebec would deprive the government of significant revenue. On the other hand, Alberta is benefiting from a major increase in the royalties it collects for the oil extracted on its territory since the price of a barrel has gone up.
These royalties, which were 1% when the barrel was selling at $55, gradually increased to reach their expected peak of 9% since the barrel reached $120. In dollar terms, the province’s revenue increases by 400 to 500 million every time the price of a barrel increases by a dollar, according to experts. However, the price of a barrel has increased by more than $65 since January 2021. The loss of revenue from the Alberta provincial gasoline tax will therefore be largely offset by the meteoric rise in royalties for a little more than a year.
Inflation
Prime Minister Legault also indicated that as soon as the by-election in Marie-Victorin, “we will talk about inflation. I think this is a subject that is becoming more and more unavoidable. We have seen the price of housing. It’s true, there is a lack of housing in Longueuil, including affordable housing. »
He acknowledged that it is necessary to use as soon as possible the federal funds allocated for the construction of affordable housing, an amount of 338 million from the Initiative for the rapid creation of housing (ICRL). “We need to reduce construction times. […] The idea is to go faster. »
Housing and access to property
Hence the intention, again repeated, to “put money back into the pockets of Quebecers, because it’s not just those who need affordable housing who have problems. Middle-class families are also struggling to pay rent increases. »
“It’s not just affordable housing where there’s a problem. It’s all housing,” he argued, adding that the grocery basket has also seen runaway inflation.
François Legault also notes that the hope of becoming a homeowner is also becoming more and more an inaccessible dream for young couples due to unprecedented overbidding on the real estate market.
His comments to this effect indicate, however, that there will be no measures devoted to this issue in the next budget and that we will have to wait for the election campaign next fall. “There is a campaign coming up for the general elections. I think the political parties will force themselves to have home ownership plans, as we have often seen in history. I invite you to be patient. »