QUEBEC’S BUDGET
There is much to applaud in the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s first budget, presented Thursday by Finance Minister Eric Girard. Among the highlights are $280 million for home care and support services, $215 million for additional staff for nursing homes and $1 billion (over five years) for school infrastructure.
Overall, there were big spending boosts in the areas of health (5.4 per cent) and education (5 per cent) — and who can argue with that? Our health and education systems are still suffering from years of underfunding.
For anglophones, the significant increase for the Secretariat for Relations with English-speaking Quebecers (from $3 million to $5.5 million) is also welcome, in part because it is a reassuring sign the new government sees the value of the institution created by its Liberal predecessors. The Secretariat’s purpose is to ensure that the interests of, and potential impact on, English-speaking Quebecers are taken into account at the highest levels when governments are making policy decisions. Too often those interests have been entirely overlooked, at least initially.
Given this government’s plan to eliminate school boards, which would infringe on the constitutional rights of the English-speaking minority, a properly equipped Secretariat is essential, even if the government does not seem at all likely to back off from its plan. The exact purposes to which the new funding will be allocated remains unclear, however. The Quebec Community Groups Network is hoping that it will mean support for the creation of access plans for health and social services in English. Those are long overdue.
For all the spending, however, this budget also provides indications of where the new government is falling short on its promises, or is likely to. There is no money yet for those piein-the-sky maisons des aînés announced during the campaign. There will be no additional help this year for parents of handicapped children. The limited funding for 250 new kindergarten classes for four-year-olds testifies to the realization the plan to create 5,000 won’t be carried out any time soon. Staff and space are lacking, not just funding, and the number of parents who will prefer this option to daycares remains to be seen. And this budget does far too little to address environmental concerns.
As has been widely noted, the CAQ has had the good fortune of being able to reap the political rewards of former Liberal finance minister Carlos Leitão’s outstanding economic stewardship. Certainly, being left a $2.5 billion surplus makes budget-drafting considerably easier. Next year will be a bigger challenge.