Quebec's municipal pension funds aren't as deep in the red as previously thought.
The Couillard government now says the combined deficit for the pension plans is $2.6 billion, not the $3.9 billion it has been using for the past year.
Muncipal Affairs Minister Pierre Moreau said the figure is lower than previously thought, but still too high to manage.
"This deficit is $2.6 billion. It's two times the Olympic Stadium. It's six times the stadium here in Quebec City," said Moreau.
He said the hole in pension plans will not be filled unless the action set forth in Bill 3 comes into effect.
"If we look at it, you have to keep in proportion the fact that this deficit is still huge and we have to act," said Moreau.
The new figures are from December 2013 but the Liberal government says it wasn't aware of that when it tabled Bill 3.
Union leaders say the difference in figures is proof the provincial government is lying about the urgency of its pension reform plans.
