Quebec Conservative platform heavy on tax cuts, healthcare -- but leaves several issues out
Voters interested in the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) may be disappointed by its platform, announced Sunday in Drummondville, as it is silent on many issues and vague on many others.
Not a word on the party's immigration commitments. Not a word on the promotion of the French language. Complete silence on culture. Nothing on agriculture, Quebec-Ottawa relations, access to justice, minority and Indigenous rights, the fight against domestic violence, or services for children in youth protection.
"We chose to make a platform based on the five themes we intend to hammer during the election campaign," explained party leader Eric Duhaime in a press scrum. He said the other issues are addressed under the "programme" tab on the party's website.
The PCQ's platform contains about sixty pages focusing on a few issues: health, the economy, childcare, tax cuts, transportation and the environment. Some of the commitments were already known to the public.
A fierce defender of individual freedoms, Éric Duhaime wants first and foremost to "give back more freedom" to Quebec citizens, under the slogan "Libres chez nous" and his platform entitled "Liberté 22."
The platform was presented to a hundred candidates in a community center who received pre-election training on Saturday.
On the issue of climate change, the party remained vague. It said it wants to focus on "realistic" ambitions and has not set any targets for reducing greenhouse gases.
Duhaime justified this decision by explaining that governments have "continually" missed these targets in the past.
He also reaffirmed his opposition to Bill 96 on the French language, calling himself a "nationalist." But there is "no question of us touching fundamental freedoms," he said.
On the issue of transportation, the party focused its commitments on Quebec City only, without mention of Montreal and the rest of Quebec.
It reaffirmed its opposition to the tramway project, promising free bus transportation in the capital. The Conservatives are in favour of the construction of a third link, but against the government's plan for a Quebec-Lévis tunnel. The PCQ would rather see a bridge in the east, near Île d'Orléans.
In the realm of health, the word to remember is: competition. The contribution of the private sector would be central. The party would change the way hospitals are financed: some would be managed directly by private companies, and doctors would be encouraged to engage in mixed practice. Private supplementary insurance would be available for health care services already covered by Medicare. The party also intends to train more physicians.
For child care services, the party is advocating a gradual withdrawal from the financing of the network, relying instead on direct assistance to parents through a voucher of $200 per week, per child. Here again, the PCQ wants to encourage competition, including in service costs, with the deregulation of the $8.70 daily rate. The party did not set a target for the creation of additional daycare spaces, even though the waiting list contains 52,000 names.
"We believe the market will solve the problem," Duhaime said.
On the tax front, the PCQ is banking on reducing the taxpayer burden, with a promise of a $2,000 tax cut for those with an annual income of $80,000, for example. It also wants to suspend gasoline taxes and abolish the tax on used goods, and progressively reduce the payroll tax.
Additionally, a Quebec Conservative government would want to better exploit natural resources and would greenlight the LNG-Québec project.
In his speech, Duhaime said his party has grown exponentially in a short period of time, from 500 members to 60,000.
Duhaime also had a message for Quebec's anglophones: they are not hostages of the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP).
This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press on Aug. 14, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Some BMO clients face outages in Canada, U.S.
Bank of Montreal clients on both sides of the border Thursday morning have reported outages for banking services.
NEW How car thefts are impacting your insurance, even if your car isn't stolen
As the number of auto theft incidents rises in Canada, so have insurance premiums for drivers, even the ones whose vehicles aren't stolen.
B.C. mortgage broker ran $270-million Ponzi scheme, then fled Canada, bankruptcy trustee says
The trustee appointed to manage the bankruptcies of a Victoria mortgage company and its owner has concluded that they committed "numerous offences" and operated as a "massive Ponzi scheme."
'I'm not wealthy': Ontario senior shocked she owes $40,000 in capital gains after gifting land
An Ontario senior who wanted to help her daughter and grandson eventually own homes one day decided to give them two lots on her property as a gift—but she didn’t know it would eventually cost her tens of thousands of dollars.
opinion Trump's Republicans falling far behind in fundraising, infrastructure
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, Washington political analyst Eric Ham explains how and why Republicans -- up and down the ballot -- are falling far behind Democrats in both fundraising and infrastructure.
Canadians are eyeing moves to these cities for more affordable housing
Faced with elevated housing prices, half of Canadians in the country's largest cities are considering moving to places with more affordable housing.
Canadians' interest in buying EVs fades as barriers, concerns remain: J.D. Power
A new study finds fewer Canadians say they're interested in buying an electric vehicle as concerns remain about limited driving ranges, high prices and a lack of charging stations.
McDonald's says US$18 Big Mac meal was an 'exception' and their prices haven't risen that much
McDonald’s is fighting back against viral tweets and media reports that it says have exaggerated its price increases.
Oilers rally to beat Stars, tie Western Conference Final
With the Edmonton Oilers down two goals late in the first period of Game 4, Rogers Place was quiet, fans seemingly bewildered at the early, quick scoring of the Dallas Stars and the slow start by the home team. Ryan McLeod's marker with six-and-a-half minutes in the opening frame left changed all that.