Digitization, automation and innovation; the Legault government is injecting 350 million more into its fall update to stimulate “business growth and productivity.” In the business world, it is difficult to see how these sums can alleviate the headaches caused by the lack of manpower.
It will also be necessary to wait before knowing which categories of projects will be eligible for financial assistance. The fall update presented Thursday by the Minister of Finance Eric Girard provides 160 million over five years to accelerate the investment projects of companies, without going further.
The themes of increasing productivity, competitiveness, automation and reducing the environmental footprint are mentioned, but it is the Minister of Economy and Innovation Pierre Fitzgibbon who will present the details ” later ”.
“That’s an average of 30 million more per year,” says the president and CEO of Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec (MEQ) Véronique Proulx. If the government wants to address the labor shortage in our sector, this will have to become a priority and it will have to invest more. ”
With 279,000 vacant positions in Quebec in August, employer representatives would have liked to see the Legault government take concrete measures to expand the pool of workers for the private sector.
There is of course the increase in immigration thresholds, but also the integration into the workplace of people with disabilities, court clients and other groups, believes the president and CEO of the Employers Council. (CPQ) Karl Blackburn.
“The 160 million are long-term measures, but there is nothing concrete in the short term,” he laments. Unfortunately, this is not enough. ”
In addition, the Legault government’s efforts to counter the scarcity of labor mainly concern five categories of workers. Some, such as health and social services, education and childcare services, concern workers working in the public sector.
There are people left behind, laments the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
Accelerated deployment
The other part of the economic update is looking at the establishment of the first innovation zones, the unveiling of which is fast approaching. The initiative obtains 100 million more – 40 million had already been announced – for the establishment of the first innovation zones.
To this will be added 90 million for other types of projects qualified as “innovative” elsewhere “in Quebec”.
Announced in 2020, the innovation zones, where we want to bring together in one place, on a thematic basis, environments such as education, research, start-up companies as well as major players, are still waiting .
At least 30 requests from 13 regions of Quebec were received.
The Legault government has also decided to relax the terms of the program offering a 20% discount for four years to companies that have deployed investment projects. The spread may be spread over a maximum period of 72 months.
“Due to the health crisis, companies are facing additional delays in carrying out the projects for which they have started with an electricity discount”, one explains.
Requests should be submitted no later than December 31st. There will be “no additional financial impact” for the State since the “projects in progress were already included in the costs of the program”.
To take advantage of this rebate, they will have to invest at least 40 million in improving their productivity or reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. The discount could represent up to 50% of the cost of the investment. For example, a company that invests $ 80 million could benefit from a reduction of $ 40 million on its electricity bill.
As of November 9, 159 requests from major manufacturers had been confirmed. That’s over $ 5.6 billion, according to government data.
If we take into account the 94 million already announced for the deployment of high-speed Internet in Quebec, the sums devoted to the “growth and productivity” of businesses amount to 444 million.