Researchers from our Bureau of Investigation review candidates’ statements live during the 2022 Leaders’ Debate on Radio-Canada. Who says true, who says wrong? Which statements deserve more clarification or context? Stay with us all evening to have the right time. Found a statement that deserves review? Write to us [email protected].
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9:45 p.m
THE STATEMENT
Dominique Anglade has criticized Éric Duhaime for not telling his English-speaking constituents that he supports the Secularism Bill: “You, what you are not saying in English is that you want to go further on Bill 21, which you voted for . ”
FACTS
Mr Duhaime cannot have voted on Bill 21. He never sat in the National Assembly and wasn’t even the leader of the Quebec Conservative Party when the CAQ government gagged the bill in June 2019.
In addition, the only outgoing PCQ MP, Claire Samson, was still in the ranks of the CAQ when Bill 21 passed and made the leap to the Conservatives in June 2021.
9:36 p.m
THE STATEMENT
Quebec Liberal Party leader Dominique Anglade has criticized the Legault government for dividing Quebecers with Bills 21 and 96. She took the opportunity to praise what her party had done in the National Assembly during the passage of the two bills. “We are the only party here that voted against Bill 96 and against Bill 21 on values,” she said.
FACTS
It’s true. The party is the only one that has spoken out against both bills.
The PLQ and Québec solidaire voted against the State Secularism Act (Bill 21) in 2019. In addition, four PQ candidates joined Ms. Anglade’s party in voting against the Respect for Quebec’s Official and Common Language (Bill 96), French, last May.
9:21 p.m
THE STATEMENT
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois has been invited to comment on Quebec’s education system, described by host Patrice Roy as “three speeds” with its public and private schools and the various specific programs within the public system.
“Did you know that 60% of young people who go to private school go to university? Young people in regular public classes, it’s 15%.”
FACTS
Mr Nadeau Dubois is telling the truth. Research conducted by Pierre Canisius Kamanzy, Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Montreal. It was published in 2019 and aimed to determine whether the education system contributes to social inequalities.
9:07 p.m
THE STATEMENT
Éric Duhaime mentions that the mental health of the youngest has been affected in recent years. “Mental distress, depression is 50% among young people,” says a study from the University of Sherbrooke.
FACTS
He’s right. The University of Sherbrooke Mental Health Survey for 12-25 Year Olds shows that currently 48% of young people report symptoms consistent with generalized anxiety disorder or major depression.
8:53 p.m
THE STATEMENT
Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) President François Legault said: “We managed to train 10,000 beneficiaries in a few months.”
FACTS
The Hour Just team broke the record on the subject two weeks ago. According to the Ministry of Education in September 2020, nearly 7,100 beneficiary caregivers were trained under the first cohort of accelerated training in the first four months. It took until September, a few months after the Prime Minister’s announcement, for a second cohort to reach the target of 10,000, when in fact more than 3,200 students were due to start their accelerated education.
8:43 p.m
THE STATEMENT
François Legault said that “wages have never increased as fast as they are now”.
FACTS
It’s true. From August 2021 to August 2022, the average hourly wage for Quebec employees, all occupations combined, increased by 6.9%. An all-time record? Hard to say. But if we look at the last decade, from one month of August to the other, since 2010, there has never been such a sharp increase.
8:38 p.m
THE STATEMENT
Asked by Patrice Roy about a possible tax cut proposed by the Quebec Conservative Party, Éric Duhaime explains how much he would downsize the state to achieve it.
“We are essentially offering what Mr. Legault proposed 4 years ago and which has not lived up to its promise. We want to reduce the number of government employees by 5,000. That being said, we don’t want to fire anyone because you know our public service is getting old. We would like to operate through attrition, but we want to reduce the size of the state.
FACTS
This is exactly what the Avenir Québec coalition proposed in 2018. In a press release sent out during this election campaign, François Legault’s party is proposing not to fill 5,000 of the 36,000 posts that should remain vacant for public sector pensioners for the next four years.
Whether this promise has been kept since the CAQ took office, one only has to look at the latest figures from the Secretariat of the Treasury Board. The number of civil servants did not decrease between 2019 and 2020, but increased by 3.1%.
8:38 p.m
THE STATEMENT
Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon takes another shortcut, saying that a tax cut is a one-way street to austerity. “For the sake of strictness, the parties promising tax cuts should cut government revenues and, for example, put themselves in a situation of hypothetical recession, implying another austerity cycle for public health workers. It’s a one-way ticket to austerity,” he says.
FACTS
The Heure Juste team set the record straight during the face-to-face on TVA last week.
The concept of austerity is not as simple as Mr St-Pierre Plamondon suggests. Yes, lower taxes can lead to lower government revenues. However, there are some other factors to consider. In fact, the government can generate additional revenue, see gross domestic product (GDP) increase, or even borrow money to cover government spending and prevent public services from being cut.
8:18 p.m
THE STATEMENT
“In Quebec, 85% of families have one or two children,” said François Legault, denouncing the Quebec Solidaire road tax that would apply to families with fewer than three children.
FACTS
Mr Legault is right. According to 2021 Census figures, 1,070,750 families in Quebec have 1 or 2 children out of a total of 1,287,685 families or 83.1%.
8:14 p.m
THE STATEMENT
Quebec Solidaire boss Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said: “Did you know that the Toyota RAV4 is selling 24 times more than the Dodge in Quebec? [Grand] caravan? And yet this vehicle will not be affected by our plan. »
He debated the taxes his party wants to levy on certain types of vehicles.
FACTS
In 2021, 24.75 times more Toyota RAV4s were sold in Quebec than new Dodge Grand Caravans. What Mr. Nadeau-Dubois did not specify is that Dodge ended production of its Grand Caravan in 2020. The 644 new Grand Caravans that were sold in 2021 were therefore discontinued models. It is therefore normal that 24 times less were sold than RAV4.
In 2020, when the Grand Caravan was still in production, it instead sold six times as many RAV4s as Grand Caravans.
The minivan now marketed by Dodge’s parent company is the Chrysler Pacifica, which sold 1,026 units in 2021.
8:10 p.m
THE STATEMENT
When asked about the most urgent actions to tackle climate change, Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre-Plamondon said: “It is important to mention that here only two out of five parties have submitted a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse gases [gaz à effet de serre] and they measure.
FACTS
The PQ leader’s words are wrong as four of the five parties in the National Assembly plan to cut greenhouse gases. In fact, the Coalition Avenir Québec is targeting zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while Québec Solidaire is targeting a 55% reduction as part of its 2030 Vision.
The Quebec Liberal Party said it aims to cut greenhouse gases by 45% by 2030 at the last members’ convention in November 2021.
For its part, the PQ also wants to reduce GHG emissions by 45% by 2030.