Québec solidaire (QS) wants to once again become an “ally” of farmers. More than a year after the episode of “orange taxes”, “we have turned the page, we understood”, argued the new co-spokesperson of the party, Émilise Lessard-Therrien, before the congress of the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA), Wednesday.
The former MP was responding to the comment of a milk producer from Montérégie, Pierre Thibault, who spoke on the floor of the congress to ask that QS give up on one of its flagship proposals from the last electoral campaign : the surcharge on more polluting vehicles.
“You own an F-150. I have one too,” he told Mme Lessard-Therrien, who owns a farm and a truck. “Then, I hope there will be no tax on larger vehicles. »
“We have this in common: an F-150 for farm needs! » replied the supportive co-spokesperson. “I simply want to remind you that this proposal did not affect workers, including farmers. But anyway, I tell you today: we have turned the page, we have understood. »
The president of the UPA, Martin Caron, sees the speech of the new solidarity leader as a mea culpa. “Today, the answer was clear,” he said in an interview with The duty. The solidarity spokesperson assures for her part that the farmers’ message has been sent.
“It was the first official meeting before the congress [depuis l’élection]. I think that from now on, there are new foundations for collaboration that are being laid,” she said.
During an appearance at the UPA during the electoral campaign last year, the solidarity candidate for the post of prime minister, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, had to answer several questions about his party’s environmental proposals. The tax on large fortunes and inheritance was notably among the promises criticized by farmers, despite the exemption granted during the campaign.
“We cannot add taxes. Already there, we are operating on reduced budgets, then we have the risk that agricultural businesses will close,” argued Mr. Caron on Wednesday.
Minimum wage criticized
According to Mme Lessard-Therrien, the agricultural community will find in Québec solidaire an “ally” in the National Assembly. “They know we’re here. They know they can count on us. There is a dialogue to remain firmly rooted in their concerns, in their issues, in their reality,” argued the former elected official, who owns a farm in Témiscamingue.
However, a new proposal from the party is already raising eyebrows among farmers: that on the minimum wage. Two weeks ago, left-wing party activists adopted a proposal aimed at increasing it to $20 per hour from May 2024.
“As a strawberry and raspberry grower, more than half of my expenses are salaries. Going from $15.25 to $20 would mean that all of my expenses would increase by around 15%, while my profit margins are still below 10%,” said Guy Pouliot, who has a farm on Île d’Orléans.
“That means that automatically, at 1er May 2024, I would be better off not being active, because I would certainly be in deficit,” he continued, before being applauded by the audience. “I understand the idea of the $20, but it has a big impact. How do you help me with this? »
Émilise Lessard-Therrien assures that increasing the base salary would generate additional revenue of “around $700 million” for the Quebec state. These could subsequently be reinvested in agriculture.
“The exact form is to be determined. Is this going to be a salary subsidy?…. We are very aware that this measure risks impacting the agricultural sector in particular, but it is expected that there will be support measures to compensate for this gap,” she said on Wednesday, before open arms to the farmers present. “I’m going to be at the cocktail party this evening, so we’ll have time to talk more!” »