The Quebec government will present a budget on March 12 that is expected to have a larger deficit than originally estimated.
Quebec’s Finance Minister Eric Girard said Thursday the government’s priorities for the 2024-25 fiscal year will be health care and education.
Get breaking National news
Earlier this week, Premier François Legault said collective agreements recently signed with workers in those two sectors mean it will take longer for the government to balance the books.
Legault said that because of the salary increases for teachers and health-care workers — following strikes that delayed surgeries and shut hundreds of schools — the budget will be “largely in deficit.”
- Prime minister commits more than $3B for defence projects in the Maritimes
- Bodies of pilots who died in collision at N.Y. airport are repatriated to Canada
- 3 Saskatoon overpass strikes under investigation, multiple charges laid
- Watchdog report prompts renewed calls for Indigenous people to run Indigenous procurement
Girard says Quebecers will see on March 12 that the province’s estimated revenues have dropped because the economy has slowed down.
Legault, however, has repeatedly promised that the upcoming budget will not include cuts to services or tax increases.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.