On Tuesday, the Quebec government will provide an update on the province’s financial situation. In September, Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard said he heard the concerns of the population on the issues of housing, homelessness, and adaptation to climate change.
But with the economy slowing down, experts say the announcement might not be a positive one.
“I don’t think that it’s going to be possible for him to say that we’re right on track where we were last time because the broader economy is not as strong as it was last time,” said Moshe Lander, an economics professor at Concordia University.
“I think that we’re going to hear that government revenues are not as high as they were expected. Government expenditures are a little more than what they were expected, and so the government’s fiscal position is going to be a little bit worse than what was expected. I don’t know that we’re going to hear some sort of catastrophic budget deficit story and promises of interest, promises of tax increases to come.”
Lander says the Legault government seems to interfere in the marketplace quite a bit, which can impact the economy.
“So whether that’s raising the minimum wage, which distorts the labor market, or whether that’s distorting the markets through creating laws that interfere with the ability to make basic decisions like do you say bonjour or hello to people,” said Lander.
“Distorting the education market by saying that some universities have to pay double or triple the tuition of other universities merely on the basis of language. These types of things hold back the market from working as effectively as it could.”
Despite Quebec’s GDP falling by 1.9 per cent in the second quarter, Girard reassured Quebecers in September that the province is doing well. But political analyst Eleni Bakopanos says the government must get creative in addressing issues like housing.
“I think that the CAQ has a big challenge ahead of themselves,” said Eleni Bakopanos, a political analyst.
“I don’t think he can solve the problems in terms of housing or in terms of the cost of living by sending people a one-time check.”
Cheques ranging from $400 to $600 were issued last year but Girard says he doesn’t want to contribute to inflation by handing out money, according to the CBC.
“There’s a lot of challenges for the Minister tomorrow and I don’t know where he’s going to get the money to cover the costs,” said Bakopanos.
