Quebec budget to focus on education, health priorities: finance minister
The theme of the Legault government's next budget will be 'Priorities for Health and Education', Finance Minister Eric Girard announced on Monday.
On the eve of the tabling of the budget, Girard said that his sixth budget would be "demanding and responsible."
He emphasized the difficult context in which it has been prepared, pointing to the stagnation of the economy and negotiations in the public sector.
Last month, Premier François Legault warned that the next financial year would be a "large deficit."
"This is a budget that will reflect the work we are doing in government to promote accessible, high-quality health care, on the one hand, and on the other, a subject I am passionate about, the educational success of young people," said Girard at a news scrum at a Longueuil primary school.
To this end, the minister announced that one of the planned budgetary measures will be an additional investment of $25 million over five years for the Breakfast Club and $9 million for the Canteen for All.
Overall funding for the Breakfast Club will then rise to $75 million, while that for the Canteen for All will reach $27 million.
"This increase will enable the Breakfast Club to serve 10,000 more children every morning," said its president and CEO, Tommy Kulczyk.
Accompanied by his colleague, Education Minister Bernard Drainville, Girard also announced that he would be making a $10,000 donation to Garde-Manger Pour Tous, a food aid organization in Montreal. Drainville will offer similar assistance to a Quebec City organization, Pignon bleu.
The sums will come from the ministers' discretionary envelope.
"If we want our students to reach their full potential, they must not arrive at school hungry. You know the expression 'a crying belly has no ears'," said Drainville.
Polished shoes
Girard once again broke with the tradition of the finance minister buying shoes on the eve of a budget. The CAQ politician abandoned this last year and instead announced a $5,000 donation to a Quebec City charity.
On Monday, Girard explained that his government wanted to renew the ritual of getting a new pair of shoes: "I assure you, my shoes are in good condition and I have a good shoemaker," he said, adding that they had been "recently polished."
This year, the minister has also set aside another tradition, namely that the media appearance on the eve of the budget should take place in Quebec City, where the government is based.
Girard said that he understood the importance of the provincial capital, giving the example of a meeting that took place at his request in Quebec City with his federal counterpart Chrystia Freeland last June.
However, he did not explain why he had chosen Montreal's South Shore to present the theme of his next budget.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 11, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Guilty: Trump becomes first former U.S. president convicted of felony crimes
Donald Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes Thursday as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.
Can Trump come to Canada now that he's a convicted felon?
A Canadian immigration lawyer says now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, he is technically barred from crossing the border into Canada.
Montreal tech billionaire charged with several sex offences
Robert Miller was charged Thursday with several sexual assault charges after Montreal police reopened an investigation into the tech billionaire.
Police: 3 killed, including suspected gunman, in Minneapolis shooting
Three people, including the suspected gunman, are dead after a shooting Thursday at a Minneapolis apartment complex, police said.
'Why didn't they stop?' Mom asks of driver in hit-and-run crash that killed son
The mother of a 13-year-old boy who was killed in a hit-and-run in Edmonton is begging the driver to come forward.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
$400K in damages for B.C. woman who had unnecessary mastectomy was 'inordinately high,' court finds
A jury's award of $400,000 to a woman who had a mastectomy after being misdiagnosed with breast cancer has been substantially reduced by B.C.'s highest court, which found the damages were "wholly disproportionate."