Here are the elected officials or political party leaders who stood out for the right or wrong reasons over the past week.
Eric Girard, CAQ
Photo Agence QMI, JOEL LEMAY
He had forecast a deficit of 3 billion for 2024-2025. Then, in last November’s economic update, the minister added a billion more. Ultimately, it is almost three times more than initially estimated, at $11 billion. He is still experiencing the hardest moments of his political career.
France-Élaine Duranceau, CAQ
ARCHIVE PHOTO, QMI AGENCY
The least we can say is that she did not show the necessary sensitivity, while groups sounded the alarm after the construction of shelters for abused women was stopped. “Despite the particularities that are stated, the costs are too high,” said the Minister of Housing rather sharply.
Jonatan Julien, CAQ
ARCHIVE PHOTO Simon Clark/QMI Agency
In a speech given before the Corporation of General Contractors, he admitted that the infrastructure projects launched had “ill-defined needs” and that their precision, “as they go”, brought additional costs. It took the government six years before realizing this and wanting to correct the situation?
Marc Tanguay, PLQ
Archive photo, Stevens Leblanc
Flagrant lacks elegance when he asserted that the Girard budget demonstrated “the extent of François Legault’s piggy bank.” It is also difficult to accept that “services were better provided” under Philippe Couillard’s Liberals, when the impact of the years of austerity on public services has since been documented.
IN BULK
The quote of the week
“The Prime Minister entered politics by creating a coalition. Yesterday he created another coalition. He managed to get private real estate developers and then FRAPRU to agree. […] “Everyone is saying the same thing: the Prime Minister failed in his budget.”
– Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, parliamentary leader of QS, on the absence of new initiatives for housing
Archive photo, Stevens LeBlanc
Kings to who better better!
Interim leader Marc Tanguay thought it was funny when he called François Legault the “King of Debt,” a nod to the controversy over the NHL team coming to Quebec. There was a boomerang effect. “They were the Kings of cuts, the Kings of austerity,” retorted the PM about the Liberals.
Archive photo, AFP