Quebec must ‘do better with less’

QUEBEC – A tough-talking Michelle Courchesne, named Quebec’s treasury board president in a summer cabinet shuffle, outlined her "do better with less" plan Thursday to rein in government spending.

Finance Minister Raymond Bachand announced in his March budget that he wants to reduce spending by $5.2 billion between now and 2013-2014.

Courchesne summoned reporters to explain how she plans to meet that goal. Quebec wants to squeeze $2.5 billion out of public-sector costs, including the health and education sectors, replacing one public employee for every two who leave.

Courchesne said doctors, nurses and teachers would not be affected by the one-for-two rule, but the government wants to freeze its payroll and limit renovation spending to emergency work only, for a savings of $30 million.

"We have to make choices," she said. "We have to be very focused."

In her previous position as education minister, Courchesne called on school boards to pool their payroll operations, an option rejected by the boards, who said it was too complicated to have one cheque issuer.

Now as treasury board president, controlling the provincial purse strings, Courchesne intends to impose her will on the school boards.

"It’s public money," she explained.

Courchesne also wants to cut $200 million form public-sector information technology spending.

She said that the signing of a five-year pact, setting wages and working conditions for most of Quebec’s 550,000 public-sector employees, will make it easier to control spending.

Nurses and doctors still have not agreed to contract terms.

The minister also wants to pool more services and cut red tape to bring down costs.

In his budget, Bachand announced plans to raise $500 million a yea, by charging user fees for health care.

Bachand has abandoned that plan and Courchesne said Health Minister Yves Bolduc would be announcing spending cuts in his department that would include measures to raise the extra $500 million.

Courchesne wants to save $1 billion by revising government grant programs, such as subsidies to businesses, and will urge public-sector managers to hold down their costs, with a goal of saving another $1.7 billion.

But Sylvain Simard, the Parti Québécois treasury board critic, dismissed Courchesne’s announcement as a "smoke and mirrors" operation, saying she had nothing new to offer.

Simard said the plan to replace one public servant for every two who leave is not working, as the number of people on Quebec’s payroll continues to rise.

"They lost control (of spending) seven years ago," Simard said, noting Courchesne was silent on the interest load Quebec’s growing public debt will add and did not talk about the benefits of a public inquiry into the construction industry.

Construction costs in Quebec are said to be inflated by 20 per cent to 30 per cent. Police confirmed this week there is collusion by organized crime to fix prices.

François Bonnardel, the Action démocratique du Québec finance critic, called Courchesne’s announcement "manipulation of figures and words."

"This so called plan to reduce spending is a big mirage," Bonnardel said.