Whether disappointment or proof, the government has just announced that it is leaving office Project to create 17 Blue SpacesMuseums exclusively dedicated to Quebec culture.
The lack of control over project costs will have killed the good idea of showcasing our heritage.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Opposition members have been hounding the government over the famous Blue Spaces for several months.
Back in January 2023, Minister Lacombe identified significant cost overruns, forcing him to review the project's completion schedule.
In just a year and a half, the project planned for Quebec City had risen from $47 million to $60 million. Today, this project alone is worth around $100 million.
Anyone who undertakes a project knows full well that their bill will be higher than what was anticipated in the plans and specifications. So how can we explain that Quebec's largest customer, the government, failed to anticipate the cost overruns?
We don't learn from our lessons
After the Liberal government of doctors, we have had a government of accountants since 2018.
Our public finances should be doing better. However, nothing is less true.
And no, it's not the pandemic's fault.
The government has made many questionable economic decisions over the last six years. I have often denounced the use of bonuses to solve problems. Promises of tax cuts and announcements of checks on the eve of the election are just symptoms of a management that lacks long-term vision.
This government clearly doesn't learn from its mistakes.
Kindergartens from 4 years? The bill explodes. Negotiations with officials? The bill explodes. Retirement homes, we don't even talk about that.
The idea of Blue Spaces fit well into the CAQ's nationalist discourse. It is clear that between culture and budget, money always wins.