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 – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
