According to the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), a non-profit think tank, Quebec’s public sector debt will hit a record $280 billion by 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Public sector debt includes the government’s gross debt as well as the debt of its ministries and public corporations.
On its website, the group has a “debt-clock,” which shows the the rate of growth in real-time.
Over the past seven years, the debt has grown by over $58 billion, which means every man, woman and child in Quebec, is saddled with a $33,629 debt, according to the MEI.
“It’s growing rapidly, even though the province has not been in recession for seven years and government revenues keep rising,” Youri Chassin, MEI research director, said in a written statement. “It’s a worrisome rate of indebtedness that is a cause for concern for all Quebecers.”
For the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the government has earmarked $10.4 billion to pay off interest on the debt, money MEI said could be better spent improving schools, hospitals or other services benefiting Quebecers.
The think tank is calling on the government to rethink its spending to reduce the burden on taxpayers across the province.
“The government’s debt should be a matter of profound concern for Quebecers, who will one day or another have to pay off this debt with additional taxes,” Michel Kelly-Gagnon, MEI president and CEO said. “Workers are already taxed on all sides, and efforts to get our public finances in order must now fall to the government, which must review its spending from top to bottom.”
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