Quebec premier criticized for saying government has too much money

The leader of a Quebec opposition party is accusing Premier Philippe Couillard’s government of overtaxing Quebecers.

On Tuesday, Couilllard said government coffers are overflowing because the economy is doing well and the provincial government has been collecting more revenue than expected.

François Legault, leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec party, posted a statement on his Facebook page that says the province’s Liberal government is taking too much from Quebecers:

“Philippe Couillard is admitting his government took too much money out of the pockets of Quebecers.”

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Couillard spoke to a crowd of party members in Quebec City on Tuesday. He said the Liberals “don’t need all the money” they’ve collected from Quebecers.”

Couillard said his words have been twisted around in a political climate already in campaign mode.

“Because we have a better economy, because we created more jobs, more well-paid jobs, of course the government gets more income,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Because we have a better economy, because we created more jobs, more well-paid jobs, of course the government gets more income," he said.

READ MORE: Already campaigning for Quebec’s 2018 election?

“We have already significantly changed Quebec for the better, for the better and we want to go even further,” Premier Couillard added. “Under our management, there has never been such a flourishing Quebec.”

That’s the message the Quebec premier wants to get out ahead of this fall’s election. However, the premier admitted that some of this economic progress was unexpected and now he says Quebec has more money than it needs.

The Liberals have already announced some tax cuts and Couillard hinted at more to come: “It’s time to say, ‘OK, we need this amount of money, which is the people’s money, not ours and we return it to you, as a dividend for growth and prosperity,'” he said.

However, the CAQ says if government coffers are overflowing, it means the Liberals are admitting Quebecers are being overtaxed.

READ MORE: François Legault and the CAQ surge ahead in polls

At the same time, the Parti Québécois attacked the Liberals for cutting in public services. At its party convention over the weekend, leader Jean-François Lisée said he found the increase in government spending during an election year suspicious.

“And they are experts in that, by the way, because the last time they were in power, this is exactly what they did,” Couillard retorted. “Now the difference with us is that we said from the start that this is what would happen. What did we say? We would balance the books, we will generate surpluses and half of this will be dedicated to tax cuts and the rest for investment in public services and increasing our debt.”

The premier also tore into the CAQ who, already in first place, soared 11 points ahead of the Liberals in last weekend’s Leger poll.

READ MORE: CAQ proposes school tax cuts

“For a party that has no deep convictions, it keeps switching its opinions according to the winds of the polls. Listen to them in the coming weeks. Now they will say, ‘Immigration, after all, is not that bad …School boards, okay we leave them as they are,'” Couillard said.