Québec solidaire wants to use third of TFSAs to boost energy efficiency
Québec solidaire is proposing the creation of a new savings vehicle that would permit Quebecers to continue to save and, at the same time, shrink the province’s ecological footprint.
The party would replace the current federal Tax-Free Savings Account program with a tax-free program focused on sustainable housing, in which one-third of the sums invested would provide loans for residential renovations aimed at increasing energy efficiency — improved insulation, for instance.
Investments already in a taxfree savings account would be maintained, as well as the current tax exemptions, the party says.
“It’s the same thing, except that this savings vehicle would serve to facilitate Quebec’s energy transition,” said Québec solidaire cospokesperson Manon Massé.
“The saver makes cash by earning non-taxable interest, and the funds invested are used for projects that encourage the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
“It’s win-win,” she said, citing potential savings in heating costs that result from improved energy efficiency, for instance.
The Parti Québécois, which has recently increased its barrage of attacks on Québec solidaire, said the plan is a way of controlling the savings of Quebecers.
“Now that Québec solidaire has exceeded expectations, it must be treated fairly,” said party leader Jean-François Lisée on Sunday. “So let us discuss the substance of the proposals.
“If what they want is to take control of the saving accounts of 2.5 million Quebecers as part of their hidden platform, to nationalize all large businesses, then there is a logic to that.”
Québec solidaire countered that two-thirds of the TFSAs would be managed by the Caisse de dépôt et placement as well as by financial institutions chosen by Quebecers themselves.
The left-leaning party, which has said it would put into place a non-partisan constituent assembly during its first mandate, said Sunday how it plans a transparent route to independence.
The finance minister would be tasked with coming up with a budgetary framework for the initial years of an independent Quebec to evaluate, among other things, how debt would be serviced and the savings that would accompany the end of duplication of programs and expenses.
Manon Massé said she is aware that this is one of the main concerns Quebecers have about sovereignty.
“This way, we can give Quebecers a full picture at the moment that they vote on independence,” she said.
On Twitter, she reiterated the importance of separating from Canada so that Quebecers’ money is not torn between “irreconcilable interests.”
“We saw with the Trans Mountain Pipeline and the cost to Canadian taxpayers that Canada is married to petroleum: The honeymoon will cost us $9 billion and shame in the eyes of the international community,” she wrote. Presse Canadienne