Minister Bachand Recognizes the Need to Invest in Health,
But Chooses to Tax Quebecers

The budget brought down by Quebec Minister of Finance, Raymond Bachand, stands out from those of his predecessors because he undertakes a needed clean-up of public finances by dealing with government expenses. “This budget is not a lightweight and it will have an enormous impact on the health system,” said Dr. Gaétan Barrette, President of the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ), in his initial reaction to the budget. “Taxation measures revealed by the Minister forecast a new stage in the evolution of our public health system,” he added.

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Lévis 2010 Economy Meeting: Health Totally Ignored in Discussions

Even though health accounts for an ever-increasing portion of the Quebec Government’s budget and pressure on public finances will inevitably follow suit, particularly with an aging population, this issue was excluded from the Charest government’s 2010 Economic Meeting.

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Publicity Campaign

The Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec has launched a vast publicity campaign to show politicians that there are many ways to find new resources to balance the public finances. All of these are concrete and easily applicable measures that the government could put in place without affecting Quebecers’ fiscal burden. Moreover, all of these measures come from previous propositions or declarations made by highly respected sources such as the Auditor General of Quebec, the Montreal Economic Institute and others. For the public’s benefit, for each proposition, facts, data, studies and reports have been gathered and placed within a website designed especially to support this campaign.

The campaign Expertisehasaprice.com (lexpertiseaunprix.com) truly demonstrates that there is money available out there and await political decisions be made accordingly in a timely fashion. Not only the estimated sums available by the different propositions would help solve the economic deficit, but they would also help in solving the wage discrepancy for public sector professionals.

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Health Questions Totally Eclipsed of Discussions

Health, a sector representing an important part of Quebec’s budget and where the financial needs keep soaring for many reasons, health will not be part of discussions by the Charest government during the Rencontre économique 2010.

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