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<\/p>\nPremier Christine Fr\u00e9chette defended her spending promises on Saturday, despite a warning from the province\u2019s finance minister that she may surpass the $250 million fund allocated to her.<\/p>\n
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Radio-Canada has reported that Eric Girard wrote to Fr\u00e9chette earlier this month to express concern about her high spending, writing that \u201cQuebecers want a responsible premier who doesn\u2019t spend every which way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since taking office in April, Fr\u00e9chette has already said the government will reimburse part of the welcome tax paid by first-time homebuyers as well as the carbon tax for farmers. She also announced a tax cut for small and medium-sized businesses.<\/p>\n
She is also expected to announce the elimination of the Quebec Sales Tax, or QST, on certain grocery and pharmacy items in the coming days.<\/p>\n
That measure is expected to cost $100 million, which brings the total amount of her pledges to around $330 million so far.<\/p>\n
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The Quebec budget allocated $250 million per year for five years for the new leader of the Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec to deliver on her promises.<\/p>\n
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Fr\u00e9chette defended her spending as she arrived at a party meeting in L\u00e9vis, Que., noting that Quebecers are having a tough time due to pressures such as the conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re thinking about the cost of groceries, the cost of housing\u2026and gas as well,\u201d she told reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe minister of finance is doing his job. Now, I\u2019m doing mine, which is to find a balance between managing public finances and addressing the needs of Quebecers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Girard, meanwhile, downplayed the importance of his message to Fr\u00e9chette, saying he had written \u201cthousands\u201d of similar messages during his time at the National Bank of Canada.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThat\u2019s my style: concise, direct,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m the guardian of public finances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Environment Minister Pascale D\u00e9ry also felt that the message from Girard wasn\u2019t unusual. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing in there that surprises me, that\u2019s concerning, or that\u2019s out of the ordinary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Fr\u00e9chette\u2019s rivals, however, were quick to criticize.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Fr\u00e9chette, like Mr. Legault before her, continues to spend lavishly in an attempt to win over voters,\u201d Liberal Leader Charles Milliard wrote on X. \u201cAs if Quebecers didn\u2019t see right through their game.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said the news was \u201cundeniable proof,\u201d that nothing has changed in the CAQ party since Fr\u00e9chette succeeded Fran\u00e7ois Legault as leader. \u201cThey\u2019ve learned nothing from their failures,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Fr\u00e9chette is presiding over her party\u2019s first general council meeting since becoming premier. She is expected to deliver a speech later Saturday.<\/p>\n
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