QUEBEC CITY -- Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard says he will table his third budget on March 25.
The minister made the announcement Tuesday morning in the National Assembly. In his third budget, he’s promised to present the province’s financial situation in “full transparency,” following a fiscal year dedicated to reviving the economy and plagued by pandemic spending.
Girard told reporters Tuesday the budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year will also include an accounting change sought by the auditor general that will increase the province's net debt by $12.4 billion.
The minister says the change relates to accounting norms regarding transfer payments and had been requested by the auditor general since 2013.
Auditor general Guylaine Leclerc told a legislative committee in February she thought the province had been underestimating its debt by $12 billion, adding that the situation was akin to someone receiving a credit card bill and saying the minimum payment is all they owe.
Quebec's Finance Department had estimated the province's gross debt at $220.8 billion by March 31, or 50.5 per cent of GDP.
Girard's November economic update projected a $15-billion deficit for 2020-21 and a 6 per cent drop in GDP, followed by an $8 billion deficit in 2021-22 and another $7 billion in 2022-23.
Even in a time of high spending, the Legault government has repeatedly pledged not to raise taxes while maintaining public services at their current level.
"In these difficult times, there is no question of cutting government spending," said the finance minister. “We're in a pandemic. We are making huge efforts in terms of health and we will continue [to do so].”
The ministry of health, already accounting for almost half of the province’s budget, is expected to take the lion’s share of spending.
-This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2021.
