The opposition is calling for an end to the open bar of subsidies to businesses which are paid with billions of dollars by the Legault government, “behind closed doors”.
• Also read: Aid to businesses: government must “be careful”, admits minister
The Liberal spokesperson on the economy, Frédéric Beauchemin, took issue with the CAQ government’s management of public funds.
The Journal revealed on Saturday that François Legault’s government paid nearly $15 billion in aid to businesses from October 2018 to June 2024. This represents $216 million per month on average, or 67% more than what was granted under the liberal government of Philippe Couillard.
The Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy rarely issues press releases to announce the granting of loans or investments, even when tens of millions of dollars are at stake.
“The CAQ is like sailors on the run. They spend without limits without even looking, with no accountability. Their approach is pathetic, he declared in an interview with our Parliamentary Office. The CAQ has decided to be as interventionist as possible in our economy.”
Portes closes
Mr. Beauchemin strongly criticizes the economic management and interventionism of the CAQ government, which he considers disorganized and ineffective, like an “open bar”.
According to him, the investments were made without clear objectives or measurable criteria so that the government could evaluate their success.
He deplores a flagrant lack of transparency and an absence of structured policy to guide decisions, which he compares to improvised spending, in isolation by a restricted circle of decision-makers.
“The investment parameters, at the CAQ, they do that on a corner of the table, behind closed doors,” he argued.
The elected official from Marguerite-Bourgeoys believes that a clear framework, similar to that which existed under the Liberals of Philippe Couillard, would make it possible to better supervise and rationalize public spending.
Blank check
Solidarity spokesperson Ruba Ghazal calls for an end to this “open bar”.
“Just yesterday, a professor from HEC Montreal repeated what all the specialists tell us: blank checks to businesses don’t work. Mr. Legault studied at HEC like me, he should know that. $15.6 billion without any accountability or transparency is poor management of public funds. QS proposed that specific conditions and criteria be met before giving public money to companies. What is the CAQ waiting for to put them in place and put an end to the open bar? she declared.
