Québec City, March 19, 2009 –The government has set an objective of limiting program spending growth to 3.2% starting in 2010-2011. “To aid recovery and return to a balanced budget, a major effort must be made to limit spending growth. We will be taking a hard look at every expenditure and every program with the aim of reining in spending without compromising the services provided to Quebecers,” said Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, Chair of the Conseil du trésor and Minister responsible for Government Administration, as she tabled the 2009-2010 Expenditure Budget.
Once the recession is over, Québec must quickly get back on track to achieving a balanced budget. This is a major challenge that will require all of Québec’s socioeconomic stakeholders, including the government, unions, businesses and individuals, to do their part. “Through it all, we will maintain services to the public and protect the major reinvestments we have made in public services by taking the prudent approach of consolidating what we have achieved for future years,” the Minister added.
As a result of the sustained reinvestment in public services over the past 7 years, we can focus on consolidating our programs and temporarily suspend new developments. Since April 2003, there have been substantial additions to the health and social services and the education sectors, which have made it possible to restore services after years of under-funding. In health, $9 billion has been added, for an average growth of 6% compared to 4% between 1995 and 2003. In education, $3.3 billion has been added, for an average growth of 3.7% versus 0.8% from 1995 to 2003.
Starting this year, in collaboration with her Cabinet colleagues Minister Gagnon-Tremblay will undertake a wide-ranging initiative to develop solutions to achieve the target spending growth objective of 3.2% starting in 2010-2011. “We will examine our public services, the way we do things and our financing methods. Governance of our networks and the organization of our services will be put under a microscope. We will continue to reduce the size of government by not replacing one in two retirees. Every dollar of public spending must be maximized,” Minister Gagnon-Tremblay stressed.
“More than ever before, the challenges we face require concerted and resolute action. We must build partnerships with the unions to improve the organization of work and approach the upcoming collective agreement negotiations in a spirit of openness and realism, given the difficult economic environment that Quebec finds itself in,” added the Minister.
We will need an effective and efficient public service to meet the challenge of managing public spending in the coming years. The quality of public services and optimal use of resources both depend on this. Therefore, a new human resources management policy will be developed, focusing on employee development and mobilization.
The transfer of expertise will also be a key element in this policy in. As the number of retirements continue to grow, “close to 10,000 employees will be leaving the public service in the next three years, and nearly 5,000 of them will have to be replaced. The renewal of the workforce supporting the machinery of government will pose a considerable challenge that we will only be able to meet if we mobilize the public service by promoting its role and its actions,” concluded the Chair of the Conseil du trésor and Minister responsible for Government Administration, Monique Gagnon-Tremblay.
