Education, immigration and cost of living dominate campaign trail on Day 6 | CBC News

On the sixth day of the provincial election campaign, the parties’ promises focused on issues like cost of living, immigration and red tape.

The Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) announced measures it believes will help businesses deal with the trade war. Québec Solidaire announced plans to bring in 70,000 new permanent immigrants per year as well as revive and tweak a popular immigration program.

The Quebec Liberals unveiled another layer to their housing plan.

The Parti Québécois (PQ) wants to remove the sales tax on used goods — a promise similar to one made by the Quebec Conservatives.

And Coalition Avénir Québec (CAQ) Leader Christine Fréchette made a promise related to education — but a comment she made about the province’s school system raised some eyebrows.

Here are some key takeaways from the campaign trail on Tuesday.

CAQ to invest $1,000 in children’s education savings plan

The CAQ announced the second part of its family plan.

Fréchette said a CAQ government would invest $1,000 in the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) of every child born in Quebec starting in the fall of 2027. That would be in addition to Quebec’s existing refundable tax credit.

But when asked about education in the province, Fréchette denied the existence of a three-tier school system in Quebec that includes private schools, public schools with special projects and regular public schools.

The three-tier system has been criticized as being unfair and giving some children more opportunities than others.

Fréchette had indicated during her leadership race that she was open to reflecting on the matter, but shut the door to the debate on Tuesday.

Fréchette’s comments prompted a swift response from Caroline Senneville, head of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, a major labour federation in the province. Senneveille expressed her incredulity in a statement to Radio-Canada, saying the CAQ leader was “out of touch.”

“No three-tier school system? Really?” she said. “When a public school student is four times less likely to go to university than a private school student, we have to call it what it is: a multi-tiered system.”

Conservatives promise to cut back on red tape

Conservative Party of Quebec Leader Éric Duhaime stood in front of stacks of printed paper outside a hotel in Quebec City in the Taschereau riding. It was meant to illustrate the amount of red tape businesses must navigate.

His party is promising to cut regulatory requirements on Quebec businesses by 30 per cent during its first term in office, if elected.

The four-phase plan involves creating a public inventory of all regulatory requirements and a ‘one-for-one’ removal if new regulations arise.

Duhaime said these measures — along with a 59 percent cut in corporate income taxes, a $47- billion reduction in government spending, and the development of natural gas resources — will make Quebec businesses more competitive.

Liberals tackle housing crisis

Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) Leader Charles Milliard was back in Sherbrooke to make a housing announcement in front of Les Habitations l’Équerre.

His party wants to add 40,000 new social and affordable housing units over five years, through a combination of new construction and acquisitions. 

A significant share would be dedicated to vulnerable groups like people experiencing homelessness, people with disabilities, young people leaving youth protection, seniors, students and second-stage housing for women fleeing intimate partner violence. 

The PLQ wants 20 per cent of Quebec’s housing to be off-market.

To speed up the process Milliard wants to pre-qualify non-profit housing organizations, and have 50 per cent of construction be prefabricated. 

The announcement is part of Milliard’s broader goal of eventually building 100,000 homes per year in the province.

Milliard argues the CAQ has failed to adequately address the housing crisis while in power since 2018. He says Quebecers are struggling to find decent housing due to a nearly 50 per cent increase in average rents since 2018.

QS immigration target and reviving the PEQ program

Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal was in Rouyn-Noranda.

Her party promises include welcoming 70,000 new permanent immigrants per year and bringing back, in its entirety, the Quebec Experience Program, commonly referred to as PEQ.

Ghazal said it would help the regions, where a shortage of daycare workers and health-care professionals is having a major effect.

Part of Québec Solidaire’s plan includes creating a regional PEQ proram to create a fast track towards permanent residency for people who are already working in the regions and who commit to staying there for at least three years.

Ghazal says these measures are above all meant to create a sense of security for new immigrants. Québec Solidaire’s permanent immigration targets are double that of the Parti Québécois. The PQ has also said it would slash temporary immigration by at least half.

The current cap of 45,000 permanent immigrants per year through 2029 was set by the CAQ government under François Legault.

PQ says it will axe provincial sales tax on used goods

The Parti Québécois promises, if elected, to eliminate the provincial sales tax on used goods.

The party says this could save families thousands of dollars a year and encourage Quebecers to buy second-hand goods.

“Based on three purchases a year, this represents a net saving of $3,000 in the pockets of Quebecers,” said party leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who started the day in Trois-Rivières.

He also said it aligned with the goal of boosting Quebec businesses, promising a period of “prosperity” for retailers specializing in second-hand goods.

He touted the measure as being good not only for the economy, but good for the environment in that it would reduce waste and encourage recycling.

While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, St-Pierre Plamondon acknowledged the proposal was similar to one made by Duhaime during the campaign — all while taking a shot at the CAQ.

”Is it a good policy to help households buy Quebec-made products and used goods, so that items aren’t needlessly thrown in the trash? If the public says yes, it’s not surprising that—ultimately—several parties other than the CAQ will try to implement a measure along those lines,” he said.

With files from Mélissa François, Kwabena Oduro, Sharon Yonan-Renold, Natalia Weichsel, Cathy Senay and Radio-Canada.