For two hours on Friday, Finance Minister Eric Girard had to defend the flagship measure of his 2022-2023 budget, as he was bombarded with questions from the opposition parties in the National Assembly.
The minister announced on Tuesday that 6.4 million taxpayers with an annual income of less than $100,000 would soon receive $500 each to counteract the effect of inflation, a move immediately described as 'electoral' and 'partisan' by the opposition parties, given that the CAQ government's 'gift' comes just a few months before the next election.
In recent days, Girard has denied any link with the upcoming election and reaffirmed on Friday that inflation has remained around 2 per cent for the past 30 years, but that it will rise this year to around 4.7 per cent, hence the importance and urgency of intervening.
Faced with such a sudden and substantial rise in the cost of living, Quebec said it wanted to react quickly by linking its financial boost to the 2021 tax return, in order to help people maintain their purchasing power in the short term.
It was necessary to act right away, in last Tuesday's budget, "because it is now that Quebecers are being impacted" by the significant rise in inflation, the minister said in his remarks, sticking to the speech he has been making since Tuesday.
But the opposition was not impressed. In a media briefing, former finance minister and Liberal MNA Carlos Leitao reiterated his view that Tuesday's budget was a 'short-sighted' exercise, focusing on a one-time, non-recurring $500 payout to the vast majority of taxpayers. Leitao would have preferred that this inflation-fighting measure be more targeted and recurring, targeting only those who really need it.
In short, Leitao said Girard lacked vision in his approach to protecting taxpayers against the rising cost of living.
Québec Solidaire agreed, saying the Legault government should have instead doubled the solidarity tax credit for six months, to better tackle inflation and better protect the wallets of low-income people.
In a media briefing, QS critic Ruba Ghazal also criticized the finance minister for not taking advantage of his budget to increase the number of structural measures aimed at reducing social inequalities, such as imposing a temporary freeze on rents and electricity rates, or creating a program to help first-time home buyers.
With the housing boom, "the dream of home ownership is becoming more and more distant, more and more remote, for the new generation," Leitao said.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 25, 2022
