With all due respect to certain associations in the business community, the Legault government denies creating distortions in the labor market, where workers are torn apart, by prioritizing six sectors – including health, education and services for children – in its minibudget presented last week.
When we make “choices”, we always expose ourselves to criticism, retorted the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, on Monday, in front of an audience of some 300 people gathered by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM), where it also tempered the duration of inflationary pressures.
With some 279,000 vacant positions in Quebec in September according to Statistics Canada, the subject did not take long to invite itself into the discussion between the great financier of the Quebec government and the President and CEO of the Chamber, Michel The White.
“As an economist, one cannot help saying that the government is creating distortion in a market,” said Mr. Leblanc. There are people who tell me “me, Michel, in my area, this is not the world I need. ”
In its fall economic statement, Québec set itself the objective of re-qualifying and attracting nearly 170,000 workers in these key areas, which also include engineering, information technologies and construction, with a plan of 2, 9 billion over five years.
Some associations, such as Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec (MEQ) and the Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ) had, among other things, criticized the Legault government for not having sufficiently broadened the pool of workers for certain areas of the private sector.
“I think that when we make choices, we always run the risk of saying that we did not make the right choices,” replied Mr. Girard, when called upon. Perhaps other sectors would have liked to be identified. It still costs 2.9 billion, so we will ensure that all these scholarships and programs are effective. ”
- Priority sectors in figures
- 27,000 people in health and social services
- 8000 in education
- 25,000 in educational childcare services
- 55,000 in engineering and information technology
- 55,000 under construction
The Minister of Finance estimated that by filling 150,000 currently vacant positions, the impact on gross domestic product (GDP) would be around 5 billion.
According to the president of the CCMM, this means investing in bringing more immigrants to Quebec.
“The truth is, we are already doing it,” replied Mr. Girard. We have invested a lot of money in the integration of immigrants. I think that at 50,000 immigrants, (a proportion) which will grow at the same rate as the population […], I think we have found a balance between labor needs and the place of French in Montreal. ”
Temporary push
While government forecasts anticipate inflation of 4% this year, the Minister of Finance, who has forecast checks of $ 200 to $ 275 for 3.3 million Quebeckers in his mini-budget, believes that the upward surge observed on prices will eventually run out of steam.
According to him, it is “strong and synchronized global growth” that is fueling the current trend.
“Everyone is growing quickly, at the same time, and the supply does not adjust,” analyzed Mr. Girard. Quebec will not have 6.5% growth (of real GDP) next year. We won’t see 6% in the United States. Very strong synchronized global growth, it will not be like that in 2022. ”
On average, argues the government treasurer Legault, the disposable income of Quebecers shows higher growth than inflation.
As for the fears surrounding the Omnicron variant, which have intensified since the presentation of the economic update, Mr. Girard says it is too early to revise his GDP growth projections (3.3%) for 2022. The main one interested affirms that the government target is already cautious since it is lower than that of economists in the private sector.