MOSCOW - Quebec's premier says he won't hike income taxes to balance the provincial budget.
Jean Charest has brushed aside a demand to that effect from a major public-sector union.
The Confederation of National Trade Unions -- which is seeking a significant salary bump in current contract talks -- says spending cuts aren't the way to balance the books.
They have asked the premier to allow the government to expand, and give public-sector workers an 11-per-cent raise over three years. And to pay for that, they say Charest should hike taxes by almost $1 billion.
Such a move would reverse the income-tax cuts Charest introduced in 2007.
The premier calls the idea a non-starter.
"For six years we've worked very hard to reduce taxes, to help bring them in line with the Canadian average," Charest told reporters Wednesday during a trip to Moscow.
"We're 60 per cent of the way there. We have become competitive and we need to stay that way."
The province will run a projected $4.7-billion deficit this fiscal year.
