The return to balanced budget planned by 2028 will be more difficult to achieve due to the improvement of offers to public sector employees and the slowdown of the economy, declared Thursday the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard.
The minister noted the effect of the salary increases in the agreements in principle agreed with the unions at the end of the year.
“It is certain that the amounts that have been granted are greater than what had been provisioned,” he declared in a press briefing before a meeting of government deputies in a Sherbrooke hotel.
Pressed for questions, Mr. Girard was unable to affirm that it is still possible to predict a return to budget balance during the 2027-2028 financial year.
“We were already in a deficit situation and as a result these additional expenses will put additional pressure on the framework of the Quebec government,” he said.
He then admitted that achieving “zero deficit” will be “more difficult” in this context.
The 420,000 members of the Inter-Union Common Front should benefit from salary increases of 17.4% over five years. The agreements in principle are still being approved by these union members who work in particular in the education and health sectors.
In November, Mr. Girard had already warned that the financial framework did not provide for public sector wage increases higher than the 10.3% offer which was then on the table.
“Any additional expenditure will require borrowing,” he said.
Mr. Girard declared Thursday that the next government budget will be explicit on the impact of these improvements.
“At this point, the deficits are going to be bigger,” he said.
Negative impacts
The minister did not give any indication of possible budget cuts.
“I didn’t talk about budgetary efforts,” he replied. What I’m telling you is that spending will increase in the sectors where there are the most employees, notably health and education. »
Mr. Girard affirmed that in addition to the impact of the agreements in principle, state revenues have been affected by a slowdown in the economy in recent months. According to him, the strikes also had a negative impact on the vitality of the economy.
“I told you that the fact that the economy is stagnant puts pressure on revenues and that negotiations in the public sector bring material pressure on spending,” he explained.
In Thetford Mines, where the Liberals are also gathered in caucus, interim leader Marc Tanguay affirmed that Mr. Girard’s comments demonstrate the failure of the government.
“It’s a bad government that has lost control of public finances,” he said at a press briefing. […] We deplore it, there is no rigor. It is a government, unlike the Liberal governments that preceded them, which does not have budgetary rigor. »
Anti-inflation shield
Furthermore, Mr. Girard announced an additional deadline so that taxpayers who had not yet completed their 2021 tax return could benefit from assistance of $400 to $600 from the anti-inflation shield announced in 2022.
For a large part of the eligible population, whose income was less than $104,000, this amount was paid in November and December 2022.
Those who did not receive it had until June 30, 2023 to file their 2021 tax return and benefit from it. This deadline has been extended to June 30, 2024. The government estimates that approximately 65,000 eligible people could still receive this financial assistance.
With Marie-Michèle Sioui