At an elementary school in Longueuil, Finance Minister Eric Girard showed off Quebec’s budget for the next year.
He was not an open book when it came to sharing its contents, except for one thing: “The priorities will be health care and education,” Girard said.
To that end, he announced one of the measures in the 2024-2025 budget was a $34-million investment over five years to fund non-profit organizations providing meals for school children. The move has been celebrated.
“Food security is a priority for us and we are showing it very concretely,” said Quebec’s Education Minister Bernard Drainville.
La Cantine Pour Tous will receive $9 million while $25 million will be distributed to the Breakfast Club of Canada.
“It makes sure that the 80,000 students every morning will continue to have breakfast and we’ll be able to have another 10,000,” said Tommy Kulczyk, general manager of the Breakfast Club of Canada.
Still, Girard admits the needs are great and the money this year is not enough to cover everyone.
“We always have many more demands than we have available resources,” Girard said.
Some of those demands come from the province’s metropolis.
“Housing for sure, we see the needs and it’s directly connected with the vulnerability of people having trouble to find a home and living in the streets, for example,” said Montreal mayor Valérie Plante.
Plante also wants money for public transit and Montreal’s downtown, but she might be disappointed.
“It’s not excluded that there will be cuts or attempts in spending control at other policy areas,” said Prof. Daniel Béland, head of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.
The government did warn Quebecers of financial consequences following tense negotiations with public sector unions, including teachers.
“It means that the yearly deficit for the next year will be a lot higher than expected because of this choice. But I think it’s the right choice, there’s no better investment than education,” said Quebec Premier François Legault during a press conference on Feb. 18.
Regardless, Quebec’s largest teachers’ union, the Federation Autonome de l’Enseignement (FAE), said it expects a seven per cent increase in spending on education.
“More precisely, in the areas of pre-school, elementary and high school, as well as training and adult education. A level of spending below estimated costs will be considered budgetary cuts, since the growth in spending must at least follow the increase in costs,” the FAE wrote in a statement.
While Girard is prioritizing education, his tone was not too optimistic.
“I’m maximizing under constraint and uncertainties and there are lots of uncertainties with respect of the economy and there are lots of constraints with respect of the budget,” Girard said.
The only certainty is that the budget will be unveiled on Tuesday.