The Conservative platform, released Sunday, is silent on many political issues in Quebec, such as immigration, the preservation of the French language and secularism. But its president, Eric Duheim, promises to generate debate, particularly by giving more space to private healthcare.
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The leader of Quebec’s Conservative Party unveiled a list of his election commitments during a rally with his candidates in Drummondville.
Photo by Patrick Pellirose
Quebec’s Conservative Party presents its election platform on Sunday, August 14, 2022.
But the absence of several fundamental issues in Quebec state governance is striking from the outset. [sur] Those are the five terms we intend to hammer out during the election campaign,” the Conservative leader explained at a press scrum after the event.
He says citizens can look at his party’s program to get an idea of the PCQ’s positions on other issues.
However, the protection of the French language, immigration limits, assimilation of newcomers, and religious identities have figured prominently in political news.
Conservative leader Eric Duhaime has already spoken publicly on these issues: he opposes the reform of Bill 101 adopted by the Legault government, but has said he is in favor of banning religious symbols for some civil servants.
The PCQ’s promises, which were aired in the media this week, are divided into five categories: economy—housing, health, transport, environment, family and education. The party claims to have 29 pledges, divided into nearly 90 sub-commitments.
Key Duties
Conservative proposals on health will be discussed. Eric Duhaime’s government will give more emphasis to the private sector, especially by allowing people to take out insurances other than the Sun Card. A tax credit is given based on the amount paid by the citizen for his personal insurance.
Don’t we risk impoverishing the public network this way? “On the contrary, we will enrich it because there will be new money in the system. There will be excess supply,” Mr. Duhaime said.
“Every time a person is taken off the public waiting list, it gives the public more resources. We’re going to push people out of the public system that the government no longer needs to pay for,” he reckons.
The PCQ will allow doctors to work in both the private and public sectors, in addition to launching a pilot project to create a fully private hospital.
From a taxation perspective, the PCQ promises to increase the tax exemption for individuals from $15,728 to $20,000. The tax rate will increase from 15% to 13% on the first $46,295, then from 20% to 18% up to $92,580.
3rd Annex: A bridge and underground piers
In transport, the duties concern the Quebec City area in particular. Unsurprisingly, the Conservatives favor Link 3, but prefer a bridge over Île-d’Orléans, which is the “most economical” solution.
Eric Duhaime also revived an idea raised by Prime Minister François Legault at the start of his mandate, which was later rejected. Part of the “billions of dollars” saved by choosing the bridge over the tunnel will be used to bury Île-d’Orléans’ power poles. “Maybe we can actually use some of these resources to bury these bad pillars,” he told reporters.
As for the tramway, the conservatives want to put a “moratorium” on the project until it is “reassessed from top to bottom”.
Environmentally, the PCQ favors the exploitation of hydrocarbons and the revival of the LNG Quebec project.
The Conservatives acknowledge the “consequences of human activity on the global climate” but set no targets for reducing greenhouse gases. The intentions of past governments, Eric Duheim argues, were never respected.
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