As municipalities finalize their budgets, the 2025 bill for Sûreté du Québec (SQ) services has just been sent to them, and in some cases, it is much higher than in previous years.
In Louiseville, the increase will be 7.3% compared to last year.
“But how are we going to get there by having increases like that every year? Every year!” asks Mayor Yvon Deshaies, who says he is already losing hours of sleep thinking about his budget.
Among the basic expenses which take up a large part of the municipality’s $13 million budget, more than a million dollars will go to the Sûreté du Québec.
In Yamachiche, the increase in the bill for Sûreté du Québec services in one year is 8.5%.
“It’s a good increase. We didn’t expect that much, that’s for sure. But I think we have no choice,” comments Mayor Paul Carbonneau.
For Shawinigan, the SQ bill will be $6,682,000 for 2025, an increase of 8% compared to 2024. Land value is included in the calculation. The impact is therefore greater for municipalities which have experienced an increase in their assessment role over the past year.
“For MRC territories like Shawinigan where the assessment roll has increased by 64%, this has a direct impact on billing,” explains Mayor Michel Angers.
The office of the Minister of Public Security of Quebec responds that “the increase in bills is proportional to the increase in land wealth and it is a principle of equity which was desired and endorsed by the municipalities themselves. He recalls that in the old agreement, the government paid 47% of the bill and that it now pays 50%.
Inevitably, it is the citizens who will see part of the increases passed on to them. Yvon Deshaies is categorical for tax increases for his citizens in 2025.
“There is no decline, there is no freeze. The rise is coming. How much percentage? I don’t know,” he says.
“It’s certain that we’re going to have to work hard on the budget to compensate for all that, because we don’t want to cut people’s throats either,” adds Paul Carbonneau.
To discuss these increases, the president of the Fédération québécoise des municipalities, Jacques Demers, will meet the Minister of Public Security early next week.
“I’m looking forward to seeing if we can get answers and what we can look at about how it’s managed, how we could bring that together and also protect the variations for the municipalities,” says -he.
