Highlights of Quebec 2022-23 budget

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Here are some of the announcements contained in the Quebec budget announced on Tuesday.

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Overall

— A one-time $500 refundable tax credit to 6.4 million Quebec adults who made $100,000 or less in 2021 to handle cost-of-living increases, for a total cost of $3.2 billion

— Total revenues of $138.5 billion, up 2.2 per cent, and expenditures of $136.6 billion (not including COVID-19 measures), up 4.8 per cent.

— A $6.5 billion deficit for 2022-23, down $2 billion from previous forecast

— Estimated GDP growth of 2.7 per cent in 2022 and 2.0 per cent in 2023, versus 6.3 per cent in 2021

— $3.445 billion contribution to the Generations Fund in 2022-23, bringing its value to $19 billion, projected to increase to $37 billion by 2026-27.

Deficit and debt

— Deficit for 2021-22 revised to $7.1 billion from $12.3 billion projected in last year’s budget

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— Balanced budget still planned for 2027-28

— Gross debt at $215 billion, or 43.1 per cent of GDP, on March 31

— Ratio of debt to GDP expected to continue to decrease through 2027

Spending increases overall

Overall increase of $22 billion in spending over five years, including $9 billion (11 per cent) in 2022-23, excluding COVID-19 measures

— 6.3 per cent increase in health care and social services

— 5.4 per cent increase in education

— 13 per cent increase in higher education

— 1.3 per cent increase in other portfolios

— 4.8 per cent increase in debt service payments

Spending increases below are over five years unless otherwise noted.

Health care and social services

— $1 billion on health care facility reform

— $2 billion to improve working conditions for staff

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— $757.5 million to hire more administrative staff

— $370.6 million to improve paramedic services

— $262.7 million to hire more hospital technicians and pharmacists

— $789 million to modernize the health system

— $546 million to improve accessibility to services, including deploying clinics for “complex diseases” including $20.5 million to establish 15 long COVID-19 clinics

— $508 million to improve services for youth in difficulty and mental health initiatives

— $72.4 million for medically assisted reproduction

Communities and families

— $1.1 billion to support thousands of community organizations

— $285 million on Indigenous communities

— $29.5 million on English-speaking communities

— $109 million to improve childcare services and help families with special needs

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— $561 million to increase support for various communities

For seniors and residences

— $785 million to reinforce home support services

— $250 million for informal and family caregivers

— $1.47 billion to build new senior homes

— $128.5 million to turn private unfunded CHSLDs into funded facilities

— $12.2 million to optimize medication use in residential care

Education

— $829 million to improve student success, including $315 million on tutoring

— $204 million to attract and retain school staff

— $267 million to improve and build school buildings

— $250 million for educational recreation and sports programs and the purchase of equipment

Higher education

— $72 million to eliminate interest payments on student loans between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023

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— $342 million to make higher education more accessible, including $203 million to raise thresholds for parent or spousal income to set eligibility for financial assistance

— $278 million on student support in higher education

— $239 million to support regional CEGEPs

— $232.5 million for colleges and universities to rent space

— $131.9 million for digital transformation

— $45 million to create a donation matching program for CEGEPs

Housing

— $247 million immediately to complete the delivery of 3,500 AccèsLogis units

— $100 million in four years starting 2023-24 to build 1,000 additional affordable housing units

— $69 million to provide rent supplements and help to municipalities that offer services to unhoused families

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— $165 million to increase financing of housing renovation programs

infrastructure

— $7.5 billion in additional infrastructure spending over the next 10 years

— $451 million to extend mobile coverage, continue digital transformation of government and launch a program to strengthen cybersecurity

— $3 million to establish a propane reserve pilot project

tax

— Removing the deadline for eligibility for the tax credit for a major cultural gift

— Extending the refundable tax credit for upgrading residential waste water treatment systems by five years, to April 1, 2027

— $5 million to increase inspections and auditing of cryptocurrencies and crypto assets

Environment

— $1 billion for the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy

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— Renewal of Roulez Vert program with reduced electric vehicle rebates

— $117.2 million to help the city of Montreal with its climate plan, including the deployment of 800 electric car charging stations

— $22.4 million over three years for land decontamination

— $38.5 million for asbestos management and rehabilitation of a former mining site

— $152 million to deploy a hydrogen and bioenergy strategy, including new tax credits for production of biofuels and pyrolysis oil

— $29 million more for the Sustainable Agriculture Plan

— $38 million to renew the tax credit for upgrading residential waste water treatment systems

industry and labor

— $1.3 billion to implement the Quebec Research and Innovation Strategy

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— $451 million to continue the digital shift

— $224 million to stimulate investment in new technologies, entrepreneurship and exports

— $80 million to attract immigrants to regions

— $12 million to hire more staff to expedite processing of immigration applications

— $435 million to support regional economic vitality

— $163 million on forestry and protection of wildlife

Transportation

— $293 million in additional support to public transit bodies

— $20 million to extend emergency subsidies to inter-city bus service for another year

— $72.7 million more for ferries

— $255 million on regional air transportation, including $21 million to extend emergency assistance

— $114 million on regional land transportation infrastructure projects

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— $10 million immediately to encourage more direct flights to and from Quebec

Justice

— $170 million to promote gender equality and counter sexual and domestic violence

— $15.2 million to increase judicial support to victims

— $36.5 million to assign more prosecutorial staff to sexual violence cases

— $29.4 million to assign more police officers to sexual and domestic violence cases

— $41.8 million to improve access to the justice system, including hiring more judges and adding free mediation services

— $10.1 million to add resources to help find missing persons

language and culture

— $72 million to extend special pandemic measures to support culture

— $24.9 million to promote the use of French, including $14.4 million to implement Bill 96

— $136.6 million over three years for cultural subsidies from SODEC and CALQ

— $28 million to preserve and support cultural heritage

— $250 million on regional tourism

— $198 million to support French-language education for immigrants

— $4.4 million to support a campaign to make Anticosti Island a UNESCO world heritage site