Hadekel: Wasn’t the kind of campaign Quebecers deserved.
Both parties have wild-cards to play
It wasn’t the kind of election campaign that Quebecers deserved. Instead of issues like economic growth, job creation and public debt, politicians had other things on their minds.
We heard about the coming invasion of private swimming pools by rich Muslims and about bank accounts in the Channel Islands. The human rights policy of Saudi Arabia was up for discussion, as was the job security of daycare workers wearing head scarves.
There was talk of corruption and integrity. Friends, business partners and spouses were dragged into the fray. Old fears about Quebec language policy and sovereignty were reawakened.
For the average voter concerned about his or her economic future, the campaign was clear as mud. So let’s look again at where the two main contenders stand on the economy.
Neither the Liberals nor the PQ promise miracles, simply because they can’t. The state of public finances is such that a balanced budget is two years away and tight discipline of spending has to be exercised in the meantime.
Both Pauline Marois and Philippe Couillard suggested that they might be in a position to cut taxes after the budget is balanced.
Marois told the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal on Thursday that this will be a priority for her government, once the necessary fiscal resources are available.
Couillard said before the same group this week that one half of eventual surpluses will go to paying down debt and the other half will be available to cut taxes.
He also promised a commission to look at ways to clean up the income tax system, which is riddled with special deals and tax credits for select groups. It would also look at ways to reduce business tax rates and payroll tax for small business.
With those constraints, both parties talk about accelerating infrastructure projects and both have proposed home renovation tax credits to stimulate the construction industry.
The Liberals want to re- introduce the Plan Nord left for dead by the PQ, but it’s unclear whether the mining industry would have much incentive to take advantage, given declines in metal prices.
Both parties have wildcards to play. The Liberals propose a maritime strategy to help ports and other transportation infrastructure along the St. Lawrence River while the PQ counters with a program for the electrification of transport that would boost research and development of electric vehicles.
There are other more notable differences. The Liberals represent the option of political stability, something that investors appreciate. With the PQ having failed to rule out a referendum on sovereignty during the next mandate, the risk of an independence vote is real.
There’s also the question of social peace and its impact on the economy.
The PQ’s divisive Charter of Quebec Values threatens the inflow of immigrants the workforce needs and puts an unacceptable smudge on the province’s international image.
Its proposals to toughen the French Language Charter are also completely out of tune with today’s global business practices.
What really stands out between the two is their difference in philosophy. The PQ believes the state is the motor of the economy and that government can be the catalyst to get investment going. The Liberals, while not completely distancing themselves from that approach, are much more the party of free enterprise.
As Couillard put it: “The engine of economic growth is private enterprise, the state doesn’t create jobs. It can’t pick winners.” The role of government is to create an environment conducive for entrepreneurs to start businesses and expand.
Marois sees it differently. She told the Board of Trade that her government’s economic policy, published last fall, represents a policy of “economic nationalism in the sense that we want to use all the levers of the state to support our entrepreneurs.”
A big part of the PQ’s game plan is the proposed Banque de developpement économique du Québec, which will offer one-stop shopping for government aid programs in every region of the province.
There’s also the PQ’s plan to identify fast-growing companies dubbed “gazelles” and shower them with government help.
It’s a very different approach indeed — one that puts politicians rather than investors in the driver’s seat.