An independent Quebec would be one of the world’s richest — and indebted — developed nations in its first year of sovereignty, according to new budget documents released by the Parti Québécois on Monday.And that’s not withstanding the potential loss of $13 billion in equalization payments from the rest of Canada, meaning: Alberta; British Columbia; Saskatchewan; and Newfoundland..“This study easily deconstructs the totality of the myths and lies spread by the federalist camp on the viability of an independent Quebec,”Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.In fact, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said an independent Quebec could recoup most if not all of that amount by avoiding duplication between levels of government and Ottawa. “The fact that (the new country would be) viable is not that new,” St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters during a news conference at the Université Laval. “But that would be missing an essential point: Making one’s choices based on one’s own interests is certainly more intelligent than making choices based on competing interests (of other provinces).”.“Too often, the federalist camp implies that equalization holds Quebecers captive to the Canadian federation.”PQ statement on equalization from other provinces.It comes as Alberta struggles with coming up with a dollar figure on several elements of a sovereign state Quebec already enjoys; namely a provincial pension plan, its own police force and immigration policy..The documents suggest Quebec would recoup about $82.3 billion a year in new revenues in the form of taxes, social insurance payments and other fees that presently go to Ottawa. It also projects an almost 20% reduction in provincial deficits, from $12 billion in the present fiscal year to around $10.2 billion thereafter..It further suggests there would be savings from Ottawa’s spending in areas of provincial jurisdiction on line items “of little or no use” to Quebeckers, such as fossil fuel development, shipyards in the Maritimes or batter plants in Ontario. It also references last year’s passport fiasco as another example of Ottawa’s ineptitude.To that end, the report notes the federal debt has more than doubled under Justin Trudeau’s Liberals while the size of the federal bureaucracy has increased 40% with no discernible improvement in services..The PQ report states that an independent Quebec would assume 17.6% of the federal debt — or $185 billion — in addition to its own outstanding debt obligations of about $212 billion..In terms of economic output, the report says the new country would have the lowest debt to GDP ration of all G7 nations — including Canada — after Germany.“The starting point of Quebec (on debt) is very, very comfortable compared to the world,” St-Pierre Plamondon said.The financial accounting exercise isn’t new; there have been at least 150 similar studies over the years since Rene Levesque first came to power and historically, the conclusion has always been the same. As has the response from the federalist camp who say it overestimates revenues and underestimates costs.The last review, in 2005, was headed by then-PQ finance critic and present Premier François Legault, who today heads the Coalition Avenir Québec. The document quotes Legault saying in the past that sovereignty is not only relevant, “it has become urgent.”Critics dismissed the PQ’s latest report as an effort to discredit Legault personally, whose approval ratings have slipped below 47% — fourth worst among Canadian premiers — from an all-time high of 77% in 2020.
An independent Quebec would be one of the world’s richest — and indebted — developed nations in its first year of sovereignty, according to new budget documents released by the Parti Québécois on Monday.And that’s not withstanding the potential loss of $13 billion in equalization payments from the rest of Canada, meaning: Alberta; British Columbia; Saskatchewan; and Newfoundland..“This study easily deconstructs the totality of the myths and lies spread by the federalist camp on the viability of an independent Quebec,”Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.In fact, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said an independent Quebec could recoup most if not all of that amount by avoiding duplication between levels of government and Ottawa. “The fact that (the new country would be) viable is not that new,” St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters during a news conference at the Université Laval. “But that would be missing an essential point: Making one’s choices based on one’s own interests is certainly more intelligent than making choices based on competing interests (of other provinces).”.“Too often, the federalist camp implies that equalization holds Quebecers captive to the Canadian federation.”PQ statement on equalization from other provinces.It comes as Alberta struggles with coming up with a dollar figure on several elements of a sovereign state Quebec already enjoys; namely a provincial pension plan, its own police force and immigration policy..The documents suggest Quebec would recoup about $82.3 billion a year in new revenues in the form of taxes, social insurance payments and other fees that presently go to Ottawa. It also projects an almost 20% reduction in provincial deficits, from $12 billion in the present fiscal year to around $10.2 billion thereafter..It further suggests there would be savings from Ottawa’s spending in areas of provincial jurisdiction on line items “of little or no use” to Quebeckers, such as fossil fuel development, shipyards in the Maritimes or batter plants in Ontario. It also references last year’s passport fiasco as another example of Ottawa’s ineptitude.To that end, the report notes the federal debt has more than doubled under Justin Trudeau’s Liberals while the size of the federal bureaucracy has increased 40% with no discernible improvement in services..The PQ report states that an independent Quebec would assume 17.6% of the federal debt — or $185 billion — in addition to its own outstanding debt obligations of about $212 billion..In terms of economic output, the report says the new country would have the lowest debt to GDP ration of all G7 nations — including Canada — after Germany.“The starting point of Quebec (on debt) is very, very comfortable compared to the world,” St-Pierre Plamondon said.The financial accounting exercise isn’t new; there have been at least 150 similar studies over the years since Rene Levesque first came to power and historically, the conclusion has always been the same. As has the response from the federalist camp who say it overestimates revenues and underestimates costs.The last review, in 2005, was headed by then-PQ finance critic and present Premier François Legault, who today heads the Coalition Avenir Québec. The document quotes Legault saying in the past that sovereignty is not only relevant, “it has become urgent.”Critics dismissed the PQ’s latest report as an effort to discredit Legault personally, whose approval ratings have slipped below 47% — fourth worst among Canadian premiers — from an all-time high of 77% in 2020.
