Eric Girard warns Fréchette TVQ plan will exceed $250 million
eric girard warned Christine Fréchette on May 2 that her government was already moving too fast, and she is expected Monday to announce that TVQ will be abolished on a series of grocery and pharmacy products, including granola bars and toilet paper. The measure would save about $50 per household a year and cost the state $100 million annually.
Girard’s $250 million limit
Girard had set aside $250 million a year in his budget for the next CAQ leader to carry out commitments. He said anything above that would have to come from the provision for contingencies, which puts the new tax cut squarely against the ceiling he laid out for the government’s first round of promises.
Fréchette has already used $140 million for a promise to reimburse a large part of the land transfer tax for first-time buyers, $50 million to cut taxes for SMEs, and $40 million to reimburse the carbon tax for farmers. Those measures total about $330 million, before the TVQ abolition is added.
May 2 email warning
In the May 2 email to Fréchette, Girard wrote: “Je me dois de souligner que je suis inquiet du nombre d’annonces considérées par notre gouvernement depuis votre élection.” He also wrote that Quebecers are “intelligents” and “savent compter,” and said they “connaissent l’état des finances publiques et souhaitent une première ministre responsable qui ne dépense pas à tout vent comme son prédécesseur était perçu.”
Fréchette won the CAQ leadership race in mid-April, and the TVQ promise was part of that campaign. The coming announcement would turn that pledge into a new recurring cost, while the spending already described by Girard would move further beyond the amount he reserved for his successor’s commitments.
TVQ on grocery items
The products named so far include items sold at grocery stores and pharmacies, such as granola bars and toilet paper. For households, the practical effect is the stated savings of about $50 a year; for the government, the practical effect is a bill of $100 million every year, before any other measure is added to the list.
That leaves Fréchette with a choice Girard has already framed in budget terms: keep adding promises and use contingency money, or slow the pace of announcements. Monday’s expected announcement will show which path she is taking first.
