The Auditor General’s primary report on the state of public finances contains nothing but good news for the CAQ government, but also for us as taxpayers.
The CAQ is indeed promising lower taxes for individuals, as liberals and conservatives have already done. Added to this tax burden reduction is a check that the Prime Minister has already promised to help us deal with inflation.
The public finances are in order and the treasury is well stocked. This could whet the appetites of various interest groups who will demand their fair share from the Quebec government. In addition, the Mayor of Montreal has already unveiled her shopping list for the election and called on the various political parties to work towards better tax fairness towards the municipalities. She’s not wrong, quite the opposite.
While the City of Montreal’s revenue streams depend largely on property taxes paid by taxpayers, the Quebec government must contribute more to local government spending, which all too often supersedes Quebec’s responsibilities.
Take, for example, the growing sense of insecurity in the metropolis: Isn’t it the job of the Quebec government to adequately fund our police services to conduct the investigations and police interventions needed to control armed violence? Of course it is, and I’m still surprised to see how insensitive the government is to the increase in shootings that underscore our news.
If there were one question from the ballot box, it would be about the security and funding of our police services. Metropolitan property taxpayers should not have to shoulder the burden of funding police services; It is now a national crisis, although mainly affecting mainland France.
The same applies to housing, support and prevention services in health and social services, etc. Many of Mayor Plante’s inquiries are legitimate, fair and reasonable.
We know that metropolis has never been a priority for the CAQ government, it’s about time that changed. That’s good because the CAQs risk winning multiple Montreal Ridings, which will hopefully serve as a reminder to the government that it’s the economic heart of the province, after all.