ik - Québec has a deficit of more than $2 billion, yet somehow public sector unions want more? From where?? Where is it going to come from? Higher taxes? Québec is already the highest taxed jurisdiction in North America. Le désquilibre fiscale? How come all the vast majority of the other provinces seem to be able to balance their books? Why should the rest of the country pay for Québec's fiscal irresponsibility?
Is anybody speaking for the sustainability of the "Québec model"?
Norman Delisle
Canadian Press
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
QUEBEC (CP) - The provincial auditor general contradicted Quebec's finance minister on the size of the provincial deficit Tuesday, saying it is $2.1 billion for fiscal 2004-2005 and not $664 million as stated by Finance Minister Michel Audet.
It's the second time this year auditor general Renaud Lachance said the government has under-reported its deficit.
Lachance said in March the government under-reported its 2003-2004 deficit by nearly $1.4 billion and described the accounting methods as "creative."
Lachance said Tuesday there were a number of "loopholes" in the government's accounting for the 2004-2005 period, saying it had underestimated the pensions for employees, not included certain numbers for health and education and badly evaluated the losses on loans guaranteed by the government.
Lachance made the remarks as he tabled the second volume of his annual report to the legislature.
He said he wanted the government to be more rigorous in its accounting.
In March, although Audet had pegged the 2003-2004 deficit at $358 million, Lachance put it at $1.33 million and said it would be $1.704 billion if $349 million in hospital operating deficits were included.
At that time, Audet explained the difference in deficit numbers by citing accounting methods.
Audet said he used a practice adopted by the previous Parti Quebecois government to count only the money the province has in hand.
© The Canadian Press 2005
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