The business people of Quebec were very thirsty yesterday to hear their mayor explain his economic vision for the region. They certainly remained on their appetite.
After a year in office, Bruno Marchand still has to prove that he has a real plan to bring Quebec further economically.
The elected official himself mentioned yesterday that he is sometimes criticized for his “community orientation”, which he nevertheless identifies as being “fundamentally economic”.
However, after two and a half years of pandemic, the needs and expectations are immense, and concrete actions are still awaited.
Business people did not want to hear Mr. Marchand list budget lines, which he fortunately avoided doing.
Nor did they want to hear about the tramway or mobility, a subject that took up too much space – if not all the space – during the Quebec election campaign. Also the mayor avoided mentioning it, because it is only one piece of the puzzle, he explained then. It defends itself.
As a very good orator, as he proved during the municipal campaign, Mr. Marchand knew how to be reassuring when he arrived with a plan in eight measures.
But for most of these measures, these are pious wishes that will have to come with real solutions.
Some examples
For example, the idea of forming committees that will look at challenges related to labour, supply chains and the mobility of people and goods is interesting, but it should have actually come to fruition. long before.
We can also wonder if it shouldn’t be the job of Bruno Marchand’s bulky firm to liaise with the business community to put forward solutions.
Could this be a sign of a team that is not sufficiently connected with the midfield? The question is valid.
Either way, these committees should help make that connection. We will see what solutions will actually be put in place at the end of this reflection.
Few explanations
Then, the mayor promises to lower the debt to income ratio by 26% within 10 years. However, not only can this kind of promise not be fulfilled in the short term, but it will be necessary to demonstrate how it will be done. The mayor offered no explanation to this effect.
I am also not convinced of the parallel between Quebec and Seattle that the mayor drew yesterday to talk about the cities that have been able to adapt to the constraints, threats and opportunities that have marked the last 25 years.
Seattle is a large metropolis – and not a national capital like Quebec is – whose GDP is far greater than that of Quebec. Then, Seattle evolves in a completely different context, American in this case.
Finally, Bruno Marchand gave up on his electoral promise to lower taxes for traders in the second year of his mandate.
In the context that we already knew last year, it would have been wiser to refrain from engaging in such terrain, in the countryside, to then be forced to retreat.
At least, he will have limited the damage with an increase limited to 2.5%, as promised by Marie-Josée Savard, his main opponent.