The Quebec government wants to get major infrastructures projects back up and running, putting more people back to work, in an effort to relaunch the province’s economy nearly three months into the COVID-19 crisis.
If passed, Bill 61, the stimulus package tabled Wednesday by Treasury Board President Christian Dubé, will allow the government to bypass some of the usual checks and balances for major spending projects, to get them off the ground as soon as possible.
The proposed legislation streamlines some of the provisions under Quebec’s Environment Quality Act, in order to obtain speedy authorization to move ahead with certain projects, and allows government ministries to move ahead quickly with the expropriation of property.
Dubé said at a news conference Wednesday that doesn’t mean the province would skirt around environmental laws, but would simply allow the government to be “more agile.”
“If a species is endangered, we will not go there,” said Dubé.
He said all major projects identified by the Ministry of Environment would still need to be evaluated by Quebec’s environmental review board, known as the BAPE.
“But if there is an environmental review,” he said, “could we possibly accelerate the steps to get to the BAPE?”
Bill 61 would apply to 202 projects that were already included in the 2020-2030 Quebec Infrastructure Plan — for example, the extension of the Montreal Metro’s Blue Line and the construction of a bridge between Quebec City and l’Île d’Orléans.
In addition to road-building and public transit projects, Dubé said, the government wants to press ahead with the renovation of schools, as well as the construction of 48 new long-term care homes across the province.
“I think everyone realizes that we need to provide seniors with an environment that is different than the ones offered in CHSLDs,” Dubé said.
Quebec Treasury Board President Christian Dubé says the government wants to strip away some of the bureaucracy surrounding the awarding of public contracts to allow major infrastructure projects to move ahead quickly. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)
Skipping tenders is backward step, opposition warns
The bill also includes an amendment that would extend Quebec’s public health emergency indefinitely. The decree, originally declared in mid-March, allows the government to make purchases for items such as medical supplies without going to tender.
Dubé said he would like that status maintained for the next two years, in order to follow through on public health infrastructure projects, for example, the renovation of regional hospitals.
“We want to have time to see these projects through to the end,” he said.
Québec Solidaire’s critic for labour and public security, Alexandre Leduc, said he’s concerned the bill could threaten the government’s independence in the awarding of public contracts.
“We have to respect the rules that we’ve put in place following the Charbonneau commission,” Leduc said. That inquiry, led by Superior Court Justice France Charbonneau, exposed corruption in the bidding process for government construction projects.
Dubé said the legacy of the Charbonneau report would not be threatened, because the government would be addressing administrative delays but not the way public contracts are managed.
“I think this crisis could help us become more efficient when it comes to giving out contracts,” he said.
Auditor general issues warning
Quebec Auditor General Guylaine Leclerc isn’t convinced Quebec has the ability to do so. In her report, also released Wednesday, Leclerc underscored that Quebec is already having a hard time recruiting the engineers and technicians it needs to monitor public infrastructure projects.
Quebec Auditor General Guylaine Leclerc, who tabled her report on June 3, 2020, said the province isn’t recruiting enough engineers and technicians to supervise the infrastructure projects it wants built. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)
“There is challenge for the Ministry of Transport to be sure that they have the competency to be able to supervise the private firms and adequately evaluate contracts and projects,” Leclerc said.
The finance minister said with the economic slowdown, many engineers working in the private sector will be in the job market — offering the government a solution to that problem.
“The position the Ministry of Transport is in right now when it comes to hiring engineers is completely different from what it was in February 2020,” Girard said.
Economic update on June 19
With unemployment hovering around 17 per cent for the month of April, Girard said Quebec needs to get the economy moving again — and fast.
“These are projects Quebec needs,” said Girard. “While there are fewer people on the roads and the workforce is available, we have to move on this.”
The government wants the bill to be adopted by the end of the session, on June 12. Girard will be providing an update on Quebec’s economy on June 19. After a record surplus in March 2020, he is expecting Quebec will run a deficit in its next budget.
“We want to give as precisely as possible the state of the economy and the finances,” he said.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VICTORIA – British Columbia is forecasting a record budget deficit and a rising debt of almost $129 billion less than two weeks before the start of a provincial election campaign where economic stability and future progress are expected to be major issues.
Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, who has announced her retirement and will not seek re-election in the Oct. 19 vote, said Tuesday her final budget update as minister predicts a deficit of $8.9 billion, up $1.1 billion from a forecast she made earlier this year.
Conroy said she acknowledges “challenges” facing B.C., including three consecutive deficit budgets, but expected improved economic growth where the province will start to “turn a corner.”
The $8.9 billion deficit forecast for 2024-2025 is followed by annual deficit projections of $6.7 billion and $6.1 billion in 2026-2027, Conroy said at a news conference outlining the government’s first quarterly financial update.
Conroy said lower corporate income tax and natural resource revenues and the increased cost of fighting wildfires have had some of the largest impacts on the budget.
“I want to acknowledge the economic uncertainties,” she said. “While global inflation is showing signs of easing and we’ve seen cuts to the Bank of Canada interest rates, we know that the challenges are not over.”
Conroy said wildfire response costs are expected to total $886 million this year, more than $650 million higher than originally forecast.
Corporate income tax revenue is forecast to be $638 million lower as a result of federal government updates and natural resource revenues are down $299 million due to lower prices for natural gas, lumber and electricity, she said.
Debt-servicing costs are also forecast to be $344 million higher due to the larger debt balance, the current interest rate and accelerated borrowing to ensure services and capital projects are maintained through the province’s election period, said Conroy.
B.C.’s economic growth is expected to strengthen over the next three years, but the timing of a return to a balanced budget will fall to another minister, said Conroy, who was addressing what likely would be her last news conference as Minister of Finance.
The election is expected to be called on Sept. 21, with the vote set for Oct. 19.
“While we are a strong province, people are facing challenges,” she said. “We have never shied away from taking those challenges head on, because we want to keep British Columbians secure and help them build good lives now and for the long term. With the investments we’re making and the actions we’re taking to support people and build a stronger economy, we’ve started to turn a corner.”
Premier David Eby said before the fiscal forecast was released Tuesday that the New Democrat government remains committed to providing services and supports for people in British Columbia and cuts are not on his agenda.
Eby said people have been hurt by high interest costs and the province is facing budget pressures connected to low resource prices, high wildfire costs and struggling global economies.
The premier said that now is not the time to reduce supports and services for people.
Last month’s year-end report for the 2023-2024 budget saw the province post a budget deficit of $5.035 billion, down from the previous forecast of $5.9 billion.
Eby said he expects government financial priorities to become a major issue during the upcoming election, with the NDP pledging to continue to fund services and the B.C. Conservatives looking to make cuts.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the debt would be going up to more than $129 billion. In fact, it will be almost $129 billion.
NANAIMO, B.C. – Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says he’ll be advising the Liberal party to flip some the challenges posed by an increasingly divided and dangerous world into an economic opportunity for Canada.
But he won’t say what his specific advice will be on economic issues that are politically divisive in Canada, like the carbon tax.
He presented his vision for the Liberals’ economic policy at the party’s caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C. today, after he agreed to help the party prepare for the next election as chair of a Liberal task force on economic growth.
Carney has been touted as a possible leadership contender to replace Justin Trudeau, who has said he has tried to coax Carney into politics for years.
Carney says if the prime minister asks him to do something he will do it to the best of his ability, but won’t elaborate on whether the new adviser role could lead to him adding his name to a ballot in the next election.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she has been taking advice from Carney for years, and that his new position won’t infringe on her role.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
