(Quebec) At the end of a difficult week where he claimed that he had not read the Hydro-Québec Act, even if he is busy finding a replacement for Sophie Brochu, and after a virulent outburst from SMEs who accuse the government of accentuating their problems with inflation, the Liberals have had enough. They ask François Legault to prune the “superminister” from the new responsibilities he obtained after the elections.
In interview with The Pressthe interim leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), Marc Tanguay, does not cut corners: “the ‘superminister’, his vision of the economy, is the big deals. That’s all he cares about. The rest, for him, is detail,” he says.
Since the formation of the new cabinet, François Legault has added the Energy and SME portfolios to Pierre Fitzgibbon’s responsibilities. These new files are in addition to those of the Economy, which he has held since his first term in 2018.
Faced with inflation, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) denounced earlier this week that “the Quebec government is accentuating the problem rather than helping SMEs”.
“The biggest change in 2023 is the significant increase in the impact of increases in certain government costs on Quebec SMEs. […] The successive increases in government costs, such as payroll taxes or electricity rates, are hurting Quebec SMEs a lot,” denounced the CFIB.
“The Government of Quebec has two main levers of intervention to support SMEs: limiting the increase in government costs and reducing taxation. It is acting on both fronts with the implementation of its anti-inflation shield to protect citizens and help them cope with the rising cost of living, but unfortunately it leaves SMEs alone without any protection,” said she lamented.
Focus on the “detail”
For Marc Tanguay, it is time for the CAQ government to appoint a minister responsible for SMEs who will give full attention to businesses.
“We are asking François Legault to release the superminister from the functions he did not have before the last election so that he could give them to someone for whom it will not be just detail,” he says.
The interim Liberal leader also does not digest the imprecise statements of the minister this week, who claimed to respect the Hydro-Québec Act, even if he admitted candidly not to have read it. Comments like this make the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy an easy target for the opposition.
“The vase is full. It’s worse than worse. Hydro-Québec is as if it were his toy. We cannot remain silent in the face of this. François Legault has an unreasonably high level of tolerance towards Pierre Fitzgibbon,” says Mr. Tanguay.
As Quebec prepares to appoint a replacement for Sophie Brochu, who will leave the Crown corporation on April 11, the Liberals are asking the government to choose someone who will not be a “yes man” and who will improve the Hydro-Quebec share.
“You need someone who has a solid track record as a manager, who cares about communication, transparency, and who will be ready to answer questions. It doesn’t take a “yes man” at the head of Hydro-Québec, it’s important”, says Marc Tanguay.