The opposition demands more than “checks” from Legault
The National Assembly, in Quebec.
On the eve of the presentation of the Legault government's economic update, criticism came from all sides from the opposition parties regarding its anti-inflation measures.
“You would think that, in the mind of François Legault, the inflation crisis is over. He sent two checks, the job is done, it’s over,” summarized the co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire (QS), Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois at a press conference this morning.
The parliamentary leader reiterated his party's demands for a government rate freeze, a cap on rent increases and a hike in the minimum wage – proposals that the CAQ has already rejected.
For millions of Quebecers who can no longer keep their heads out of it; water, the check is already spent.
Haroun Bouazzi, QS spokesperson for economy and innovation
Note that the payment of a refundable tax credit of $400 to $600 to citizens who made less than $100,000 in 2021, as promised by the CAQ during the election campaign, began this week.
A government more “responsive” to the needs of the most-poor
Same story with the Parti Québécois (PQ), while the MP for Matane-Matapédia, Pascal Bérubé, denounced in a press briefing the tax credits of the CAQ government. An “electoral operation”, which would not target “the people who need it most”.
He hopes to see a government that is less “businesslike” and more “sensitive” to the needs of people who are suffering, such as “the single mother with two children, people on social assistance, and middle-class people who go to food banks.”
For its part, the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) is calling for recurring measures, “especially for those who have” more modest incomes “, including the suspension of the Quebec sales tax on essential products, explained its interim leader, Marc Tanguay.
The party leader also raised concerns about the effect of the Central Bank of Canada's new key interest rate hike on housing costs, as homeowners than tenants.
Performance bonuses criticized
In addition to their criticisms of anti-inflationary measures, the PQ and QS demand that the government tighten its own belt by reducing the performance bonuses of the directors of state corporations, primarily those of Hydro-Québec. .
“We have plenty of money. Let the government set an example before asking Quebecers for it,” demanded Pascal Bérubé.
Give bonuses of $400,000, 500,000 $, to public service executives in Quebec or state corporations, it’s a waste.
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, parliamentary leader of Québec Solidaire
For his part, Marc Tanguay is calling for a Hydro-Quebec rate freeze, lifting the state-owned company's “record multibillion-dollar profits.” Bill 2, tabled by the CAQ last Friday, provides for a 3% cap on these rates.
“Those who tighten their belts, it is Quebecers who ;have very difficult, and the government can do much more,” said the acting leader.
