06) QUEBEC BUDGET SLAMMED BY LABOUR, LEFT, INDIGENOUS GROUPS

By Johan Boyden, Montreal

            Québec`s new Liberal budget, unveiled in early June, has received a strong condemnation by the major trade union confederations, social movements, and the left political party Québec Solidaire. The budget, delivered by Finance Minister Carlos Leitao, comes after a landslide victory for the Liberals led by new leader Philippe Couillard in the April 7th Québec election.

            Pushing out the incumbent Parti Québecois, who saw their lowest share of the popular vote since the PQ's first election in 1970, the Couillard Liberals re‑captured a majority with 70 seats.  The far‑right Coalition Avenir Québec also made gains in the National Assembly, while left‑wing Québec Solidaire fought several hard battles in Montreal ridings coming out with three seats in total. 

            Calling it his "budget of hope," the centerpiece of Leitao's financial plan is to impose close to $3 billion in cuts to the public service by a staffing freeze and reducing small and medium business tax rates. The Liberals will also re‑launch plans for economic development in northern Québec - Plan Nord - which is as controversial as it is extensive.

            Plan Nord is in many ways complimentary with the federal Harper Conservative framework of increasing export of primary resources and opening up new corridors and routes to the transportation of raw materials. The plan was originally launched in 2011 under then‑Premier Jean Charest's Liberal government, and re‑branded "the North for all" by the PQ. It aims to "open up" the vast northern regions (72% of the province) with new railways, roads, deep sea ports, and massive forestry and mining exploration.

            But while "Québec is open for business," as Leitao told Global News, both previous plans were rejected by many Aboriginal communities, nicknaming the project "Plan Mort" (plan death). Protests and actions by First Nations and other indigenous peoples groups have drawn attention to the unilateral disregard for treaty rights and Aboriginal sovereignty as well as the crisis of fresh drinking water, unemployment, housing, and other living conditions in northern reserve communities. Ecological and social movements have also expressed concern about the environmental impact of these major mines and highways.

            In general, the new Couillard Liberal budget met with praise from employers and business lobby groups like the Manufacturing and Export association, but was condemned by labour and social movements.

            The budget "keeps the cap squarely on austerity" the president of the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN), Jacques Létourneau said in a release. "It hides significant reductions in public services that will hit hard the people of Québec this year... The government continues to talk about productivity gains of 2% of payroll. But what is it talking about? Schools and hospitals are not assembly lines and statistics health and safety show exhausted workers."

            The left party Québec Solidaire called the budget "a passport to permanent austerity."

            "This is science fiction to believe that this budget will not affect services to the population.... To be clear, the people waiting for months to meet with a psychologist or a speech therapist in the public system will have to wait much longer!", QS co‑spokesperson and MNA Francoise David said. "What the majority of Québecers wishes for are not tax cuts, but the public service they pay for!"

            The budget has also been condemned by the Parti Communiste du Québec which will present analysis in its forthcoming edition of the newspaper Clarté.

(The above article is from the June 16-30, 2014, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)