2020–2021 Quebec Budget: a responsible budget that triggers the shift to a green economy

Quebec City, March 10, 2020 — The Quebec CPA Order welcomes the 2020–2021 Quebec budget tabled today by Finance Minister Éric Girard. “With this budget, the government is setting the stage for transitioning to a green economy and achieving its greenhouse gas emission-reduction objectives,” states Geneviève Mottard, CPA, CA, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Order.

The Order is particularly pleased with the $15.8-billion investment in public transit as part of the 2020–2030 Quebec Infrastructure Plan and the $6.2-billion budget in support of electrification initiatives and the fight against climate change. The Order is also pleased with the implementation of a new investment and innovation tax credit, known as C3i, which represents an endowment of $526 million over a five-year period. The Order, however, would have liked to see a bolder use of eco-taxation as a means of bringing about change in sustainable consumption behaviour.

On another matter, the Order welcomes the government’s willingness to pursue the implementation of the Tax Fairness Action Plan by announcing legislative measures for 2020–2021 designed to enhance corporate transparency, including requiring businesses to provide information relating to final recipients in the Registraire des entreprises (Quebec’s registry of companies) and enabling registry queries using the name of natural persons as a search category. Quebec, which was already a leader in Canada in this respect, has placed itself firmly at the forefront with these measures.

A responsible budget

At a time when the world economy, which has begun its tenth consecutive year of growth, is experiencing a period of turbulence, the Order is pleased with the government’s cautious management of available budget margins, an approach that allows it to maintain its capacity to respond to future events and implement mitigation measures, as appropriate.

On a final note, as the objectives contained in the “Act to reduce the debt and establish the Generations Fund” have been or are on the way to being achieved, the CPA Order salutes the government’s willingness to lead a general discussion in the near future on debt-reduction objectives and the Generations Fund. The Order, however, emphasizes the need to broaden this discussion to include acceptable levels of risk regarding the exposure of the Fund’s assets to the market’s vagaries and, accordingly, to a disbursement policy for debt redemption.

“The budget tabled today reflects the very favourable state of Quebec’s public finances, which gives the government the leeway it needs to make significant investments in public transit and confront the current climate of economic uncertainty,” states Ms. Mottard.

About the Quebec CPA Order
The Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec has 40,000 members and 5,000 future CPAs, making it the third largest professional order in Quebec. The Order ensures the protection of the public and the visibility of the profession. It represents all areas of expertise of the accounting profession, including financial reporting, management accounting, strategy and governance, audit and assurance, finance and taxation.

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Information:

Jean-Louis Laplante
Manager, Public Affairs
Quebec CPA Order
T. 514 288-3256 [3024] 1 800 363-4688
jllaplante@cpaquebec.ca