(Mont-Saint-Grégoire) This is the end of the stripping strategy of the “anti-inflation shield” of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ). François Legault’s party pledged on Wednesday to limit the increase in certain government tariffs to 3%, including the Hydro-Québec bill, during a potential second term.
Posted at 9:05 a.m.
In addition to the cost of electricity, the rates targeted by this election promise of the CAQ include registration fees, university tuition fees, daycare costs, and others. The Caquists justify that this approach is preferable to freezing rates, because “such a freeze always causes a price shock”.
Through this commitment, the CAQ is also seeking to correct the effects of its own law, adopted during the first mandate, to regulate the increase in Hydro-Québec’s rates. This law froze electricity rates in 2020 and then caused them to rise with inflation. However, inflation in Quebec reaches 7.3% on an annual basis, according to Statistics Canada’s CPI data for July 2022. The increase would therefore be dizzying for Hydro customers.
After this latest announcement to combat the effects of inflation in Montérégie, on Wednesday, François Legault’s caravan will then go to a militant dinner in Châteauguay, then visit a school in Laval. The fourth day of the election campaign will end with a visit to an election office in Trois-Rivières.