I will wander (just for today, though) on my series on medicare. I want to talk about the more political woes in Québec regarding the budget.
I am sure that most people by now know a lot about this whole flurry regarding Mr. Charest's most recent budget (but we can go over it again). In it, he spent all of the new money from Ottawa on a tax cut pour les Québecois that he has been promising for years. Both of the opposition parties have publicly opposed the budget. Even though the ADQ (Action démocratique du Québec) is on the Right and thus for tax cuts, they oppose it in this case arguing that the money should be spent on debt relief. The PQ (Parti Québecois) also is against the budget, saying that the money could be better spent aiding the healthcare system, and funding the education system as well.
At the beginning, Charest and the Liberals were not at all thinking about backing away from their proposed budget, even if that meant an election (the last Québec election was in March). But then a new poll came out, and that of course changed everything. It changed because the Liberals are now in 3rd place, with the ADQ poised to form a minority government. Now, the Liberals are not being so tough.
(CBC: The Liberals change their mind)
There needs to be a real change in the way Québec does politics.
I am sure that most people by now know a lot about this whole flurry regarding Mr. Charest's most recent budget (but we can go over it again). In it, he spent all of the new money from Ottawa on a tax cut pour les Québecois that he has been promising for years. Both of the opposition parties have publicly opposed the budget. Even though the ADQ (Action démocratique du Québec) is on the Right and thus for tax cuts, they oppose it in this case arguing that the money should be spent on debt relief. The PQ (Parti Québecois) also is against the budget, saying that the money could be better spent aiding the healthcare system, and funding the education system as well.
At the beginning, Charest and the Liberals were not at all thinking about backing away from their proposed budget, even if that meant an election (the last Québec election was in March). But then a new poll came out, and that of course changed everything. It changed because the Liberals are now in 3rd place, with the ADQ poised to form a minority government. Now, the Liberals are not being so tough.
(CBC: The Liberals change their mind)
"But in the end, I want everyone to know: I'm not the one who is going to decide about the future of this government. The two other political parties, they all have a decision to make on what we'll vote on tomorrow."
I would just like to remind Mr. Charest that yes, he does have a pretty big say on the future of his government; he can just make a better budget! He should remember that politics isn't all about agreeing with governments and having as few elections as possible; politics is about getting this done to make a better province.
So my thoughts on all this. I think that Quebecers deserve better; a better government. (This is only backed up by the quote on the left.) In Québec, you have the two largest parties both wanting to spend money on tax cuts or debt relief when the health system has many problems, the education system needs more funding, and the environment needs as much money as possible in order to reduce emissions to combat global warming. I would just like to remind Mr. Charest that yes, he does have a pretty big say on the future of his government; he can just make a better budget! He should remember that politics isn't all about agreeing with governments and having as few elections as possible; politics is about getting this done to make a better province.
There needs to be a real change in the way Québec does politics.
