There is no way to justify how governments come up with strange means to spend taxpayers’ monies or have an impact on local economies such as Montreal in Québec. The most absurd example is the province’s program to promote the French welcoming expression “Bonjour” instead of “Hi”, or a combination thereof, which is primarily aimed at the Montreal region. Québec’s language minister, Jean-François Roberge, just launched yet another campaign to promote the use of French, and this time it’s going after a typical Montreal lingo that’s apparently a cause for concern for the “survival of French”. The so-called new ‘Bonjour’ ad campaign will cost $2.5 million. This follows the Québec government’s recent now-infamous announcement that tuition for out-of-province post-secondary Canadian students would nearly double from about $9,000 to $17,000 per year, starting in 2024. In December, the province announced it will reduce the extent of the hikes to just $12,000, as long as the vast majority of out-of-province students also learn French before graduating. Montreal’s two excellent English universities, McGill and Concordia, have since both reported a major drop in out-of-province Canadian students, especially from Ontario where annual tuitions are much less. In addition, the presence of students in Montreal normally contributes significantly to the local economy, by way of rentals, restaurants and the provision of other their needs during the school year.
Spending money in the above manner does not make sense when one sees that, as of March 31, 2024, Québec’s net debt will stand at $221.1 billion, or 39.0% of GDP. Furthermore, the Québec government has once again revised the increase in its deficit for the 2023-24 financial year to $7.5 billion, highlighting the stagnation in economic activity in the province. The province’s so-called ‘Generations Fund’ is a fund dedicated exclusively to repaying Québec’s debt, with the government’s current plan to return to a balanced budget by 2029-30 “at the latest.” As of March 31, 2023, the book value of the Generations Fund will stand at only $19.1 billion. Somewhat unique to Québec, the Generations Fund is financed by revenue sources dedicated to debt repayment and consisting of, in particular, water-power royalties from Hydro-Québec and private producers of hydroelectricity. Alberta has a similar fund based on royalties gathered from it oil and gas industry.
Like most provinces, governments have to look at financial support for priority areas of concern. In Québec, portfolio expenses increased last year by 2.5 percent, notably for health and social services, family services and higher education. The Québec government intends to review all provincial government spending to identify sources of savings. Maybe they should start with the Office of the French Language, and silly expensive campaigns such as the “Bonjour” one? Even local businesses in the Montreal area can’t figure this one out. There always seems to be a problem with the government’s refusal to recognize that Montreal is a cosmopolitan city and is better off for it, especially when it comes to tourism and the promotion of its wonderful year round festivals. Does welcoming someone by saying “bonjour Hi” or just “Hello or Hi” really threaten the survival of French in Québec?
Everyone should understand by now the importance of supporting the French language in Québec, which I certainly do. However, the current government appears to like to push the panic button from time to time in order to outdo other parties such as the Parti Québecois. Just maybe they should instead consider the real priorities of Québecors at this time, including those related to the economy, the environment, inflation, the health sector and youth unemployment.
FROLITICKS 