The Girard budget 2023-2024 prepares the groundwork for the second term of office of the Coalition avenir Québec. Here are 10 things to remember.
• Also read: Girard Budget: a tax cut for the richest
1) A tax cut for all Quebecers
Taxpayers will pay up to $814 less in taxes this year. This corresponds to a decrease of 1% for the first two tax brackets. About 90% of the people who benefit from it make less than $100,000 a year. That’s a measure that will cost $1.7 billion a year.
2) Increase in tire recycling costs
People who buy new tires have to pay $4.50 per tire instead of the $3 they have been paying since 1999 to fund the recycling program. The government now differentiates between regular-size tires and truck tires: tires larger than 24.5 inches in diameter pay $6.
3) A smaller than expected deficit
Last year the budget projected a deficit of $6.5 billion, but that number has been revised to $5 billion. For 2023-2024, the projected deficit will be $4 billion. This downward revision is due to an increase in tax revenues and revenues from state-owned companies such as Hydro-Québec. Québec is still expected to return to a balanced budget in 2027-2028. For 2023, the government does not expect a recession, but rather a slowdown in the economy.
4) Less waiting time for operations and more frontline services
Christian Dubé’s healthcare plan will see an additional $5.6 billion increase over the next 5 years. Frontline services will be greatly improved with the opening of 6 new super nurse clinics this year, for a total of 23 clinics within 5 years. The government will also provide $361 million to reduce the waiting list for people who have been waiting for surgery for more than a year. As of December 31, there were 20,649 people on that list, and the goal is to return to the pre-pandemic number of 3,000 by 2024.
5) Not much in mental health
The government will invest an additional $27 million a year for five years to respond to mental health problems. It’s already spending $1.9 billion on it. In particular, this money will be used to improve access to services, increase funding for crisis centers and help new parents. The waiting list for mental health services was around 20,000 people as of December 31, an increase of 4% over 2021-2022.
6) The paid CO2 exchange
The green economy plan will be inflated by another $1.4 billion to reach $9 billion within five years. These additional amounts come mainly from the carbon market, mainly from the gasoline tax, and allow more to be invested in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In 2020, greenhouse gas emissions were 63 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent and the government’s reduction target is 53 million tonnes for 2030.
7) Better access to specific educational projects
Parents of students enrolled in physical education programs and other special education projects benefit from an additional $100 to reach $300 per year. The government also hopes that all public secondary schools will offer these types of programs and will allocate $168 million over the next five years.
8) Half a billion for immigrant integration
Approximately US$213 million will be spent over five years deploying Francisation Québec, which will be the single point of contact for franking services. This sum also makes it possible to improve franking at work. The other sums flow into, among other things, the recognition of the skills of immigrants and the integration of asylum seekers into the labor market.
9) Improvement of housing allowances
Those who benefit from the solidarity surcharge will receive an increase of between $78 and $126 to offset rising rental costs. Thus, a single person who received $599 last July will receive $677 next July. About 1.8 million Quebecers will benefit from this measure. Additionally, $53 million is planned to provide 2,000 units to the Rent Supplement program by 2027-2028.
10) A ceiling for the Fonds de solidarité FTQ
To encourage more Quebecers to save, the government will limit access to the Fonds de solidarité FTQ to taxpayers whose taxable income is $112,655 or less. This measure aims to give 60,000 more people access to this fund without the government spending more money on it.