Lowered government credit rating: Bruno Marchand admits “a risk”

The lowering of The credit rating From the government of Quebec by the Standard & Poor’s agency pushes Bruno Marchand to a certain caution even if he argues that the situation of the municipality is very different.

This is what the mayor of Quebec said Thursday afternoon in the press impromptu.

The latter first explained that Quebec City is listed by another rating agency (Moody’s) and that this AA2 rating has been stable for a few years.

“The process is that we deposit our financial statements, we deposit our balance sheets. They come to meet us and in general, at the end of the summer, in August, they have issued the new rating which, for years, is stable, therefore AA2, which was the equivalent of the Quebec Government [avant la baisse]”He said.

That said, Moody’s warned Quebec City last year, “that in general, the ratings of cities are backed by their higher government,” said the mayor, who cannot therefore exclude a training effect.

“Risk exists”

To avoid this situation, Bruno Marchand says he had contacted the director general of the city, Luc Monty, to find out if the municipality should “take actions” so that his rating is not dependent on that of the Legault government.

“The risk exists […] We are measuring the risk. We are confident, but it is not an all-round confidence in the sense that we have a good financial situation, that we have a good financial plan, that we respect our budgets, that we respect the financial framework and that we decrease the debt, “he dropped.

Bruno Marchand has also revealed that the city 2024 financial assessment, which will be formally deposited in early May, includes surplus.

“Our budgets are flat and that’s good because they are predictable,” he reiterated.

Can the decline in the Quebec Government Coast arouse concern for major transport projects such as the tram? “No, that is the Quebec government that will be able to respond. Not so much on the tram as on all projects, ”dropped the mayor.