Now.

Québec loves its nurses and recognizes their tremendous contribution to our collective well-being. No wonder the CAQ government awarded history-making wage increases, as well as improved working conditions to Québec nurses. Positive and constructive actions such as these, help improve healthcare services for all of us.

Christian Dubé’s plan will allow the changes necessary to make our healthcare and social services network more human and efficient. It will provide quicker access to doctors and other healthcare professionals. Home healthcare services for seniors and vulnerable persons will be improved to help them maintain their independence. Finally, decentralization will make it easier for healthcare services to meet the specific needs of Québec regions.

To reduce hospital congestion and lighten doctors’ workload, the CAQ government has increased the powers of first line healthcare professionals who see patients first. Nurses can now perform certain acts and exams previously reserved to doctors only. New powers for pharmacists also help facilitate access to healthcare. These smart and efficient changes are making a major difference in the life of Quebecers.

To provide access to cutting-edge healthcare for all, the CAQ government has invested massively in hospital renovation and construction across the province. There is a lot of catching up to do, but work is under way. In the end, patients will be more comfortable and their experience, more positive. As well, healthcare workers will enjoy a more pleasant and better adapted environment. The computer system of the entire healthcare network will also be modernized for better information sharing and services for all Quebecers.

To improve access to mental health services, shorten waiting periods, and offset negative effects of the pandemic, the CAQ government has tabled an ambitious action plan in January 2022. Over a billion dollars will be invested in five years so that Québec citizens of all ages and all regions have easy access to the specialists that are able to support and care for them. The physical and mental well-being of Quebecers will always be a key priority of the CAQ.

As promised, the CAQ government has not increased income or other taxes for Quebecers during its four-year term: they already contribute enough to the government fiscal revenues. Healthy public finance management and solid economic performances during the last four years have helped us to provide more to Quebecers – without having to reach deeper into their pockets.

The CAQ government’s good public treasury and economic management has allowed us to return more than $3 billion to Québec taxpayers. Money that improved their quality of life, buying power and the performance of the economy.

The CAQ government standardized school tax rates July 1, 2020, to make them the same across Québec. This brought order and parity to a sector where great differences between regions had existed for far too long. This change helped return $620 million to Quebecers yearly.

At the very beginning of its term, the CAQ government lowered the price of hunting permits by more than 15% and of fishing permits, by over 25%. Quebecers in many regions can now enjoy their favourite pastimes at lower costs.

The CAQ government lowered Québec driver’s licence fees, a saving of over $180 per person for 2022 and 2023. This measure benefits more than 6.4 million Quebecers, from holders of Class 5 permits to motorcyclists.

In 2019, to make life simpler for patients, their friends and relatives, the CAQ government made the first 2 hours of parking free in all Québec hospitals and government healthcare establishments. Cost of full-day parking was also significantly cut, and now varies from $7 to $10 depending on the region.

The CAQ government firmly believes in a Québec that is open as well as French-speaking. That explains why it has stepped up efforts to welcome more French-speaking immigrants. Major investments were also made to enhance French-language teaching services. Thus, the integration of new arrivals is made easier, so that they may contribute earlier to their host society.

This key legislation passed by the CAQ government clearly states that Québec society is secular and egalitarian. As promised, it prohibits state employees in position of authority, such as police officers and teachers, from wearing religious signs. The Act also invokes the notwithstanding clause to protect Quebecers’ democratic choice against lawsuits.

The French language is at the heart of our collective identity. It is precious to all Quebecers – but fragile. The CAQ government has acted to enhance its protection and promote its use in all walks of life, but more so in education and in the workspace. After years of Liberal neglect and indifference, the CAQ’s term has seen a strengthening of our national language.

As it had promised, the CAQ government temporarily lowered the number of immigrants accepted in Québec, while reviewing the system in place and ensuring target numbers would respect the province’s integration capacity. This is a way to better protect our identity and language, while giving a proper welcome to those having chosen Québec.

The CAQ government adjusted immigration levels to be able to better support new immigrants’ social, economic, and linguistic integration. This aims to reinforce national cohesion while helping immigrants contribute quicker to their host society. With the CAQ government, immigration levels are set according to Québec’s integration capacity.

The CAQ government has acted to strengthen young Quebecers’ sense of belonging and shared citizenship by creating the course on Québec Culture and Citizenship. The course will help provide Quebecers of all regions and origins with common historical, cultural, and social references, to strengthen our community.

The CAQ government has defended, and will continue to defend, freedom of speech in all of society. This principle must be particularly defended in school institutions where debate is essential to hone our youth’s intelligence and foster critical thinking. We believe in a tolerant and free society, where all feel at ease to debate and express their opinion.

Cegeps and universities are laboratories where ideas are shared, and where Québec’s future is taking shape. These institutions must foster debate and exchange of opinion. The CAQ government has decided to defend them against certain ideologies seeking to limit their freedom of thought and of speech. Bill 32 will help defend academic freedom in all Québec universities.

The ministers of Education of Québec and France came together to denounce cancel culture that threatens free speech and social cohesiveness. The CAQ government strongly believes that freedom to teach must be firmly protected, and thanks to this partnership with France, positions Québec as a world leader in this matter.

The CAQ government has developed an ambitious action plan to increase Québec’s food autonomy. Among other things, the plan aims to double production volumes of greenhouse-grown fruits and vegetables before 2025. This strategy has already achieved 45% of its initial goal with the construction of more than 55 hectares of greenhouses in 2021, a surface equivalent to Montréal’s Olympic Park. Not only will that reduce GHG emissions due to imported goods transportation, it will also allow Quebecers to eat locally grown food more often year-round. It pays for all Québec to bet on our entrepreneurial spirit.

The CAQ government has been proactive to encourage Quebecers to choose locally produced food products. A new national food product purchasing strategy was developed. It stipulates that all public institutions (schools, hospitals, residential centres, etc.) must purchase their food from Québec producers in priority. The government has also encouraged demand among consumers, who have responded in great numbers. Volume sales of Québec brands increased by 11% in the last year alone. Proof once again of the CAQ government’s leadership and confidence in the immense potential of our businesses.

The CAQ government invests in made-in-Québec products before looking to foreign markets. The State must lead by example and encourage Quebecers to consume more local products. Consequently, governmental purchases of Québec products have sharply increased – by over $530 million during the CAQ’s term in office. This injects money in our businesses and creates wealth in all regions. It is a concrete action of economic nationalism.

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has made us realize the importance of taking concrete actions to reduce our dependence on exterior markets. The CAQ government has done just that by strongly supporting businesses and workers. It has taken multiple initiatives promoting local purchasing in all regions of the province.

The Legault government has been, since day one, a staunch ally of Québec businesses. With Minister of Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, and the rest of the CAQ economic team, Québec has never been so present to support business development in all regions of the province, particularly through an ambitious reform of Investissement Québec. Projects are being completed quicker to help our businesses grow locally, export more and become leaders in sectors having a bright future.

To motivate Quebecers to purchase local products, the CAQ government has developed a labelling system to feature local businesses and create wealth in all regions. New labels: “Produit du Québec” (Product of Québec), “Fabriqué au Québec” (Made in Québec) and “Conçu au Québec” (Designed in Québec) will help people recognize local products at a glance. These new labels will start to appear in stores this summer. This concrete change promotes local purchasing and strengthens Québec self-sufficiency.

Low-income seniors are the first to be hit by inflation. To offset these impacts, the CAQ government announced an additional payment of $400, or $800 per couple, to low-income seniors. This is a concrete action to fight inflation and support seniors having difficulties making ends meet.

To help the vast majority of Quebecers overcome inflation and cost of living increases, the CAQ government paid them $500 each, or $1000 per couple. The government opted to support all middle-class citizens, including those earning more than $50,000 per year, instead of limiting itself to more targeted measures. The CAQ government has been there for the people since its election and will continue to do so, to combat recent cost of living increases.

After providing broad support to middle-class Quebecers earning less than $100,000 with a $500 payment, the CAQ government provided additional help to lower income Quebecers. It paid out $200, or $400 per couple, to 3 million Quebecers entitled to the Solidarity Tax Credit.

To avoid Quebecers a rate shock, the CAQ government announced it will limit Hydro-Québec’s upcoming rate increase. Another action to protect our purchasing power and offset cost of living increases.

To give a financial respite to students who face inflation, the CAQ government announced it will curb rising university enrollment fees. This helps protect students’ buying power against an eventual sticker shock.

Healthy public finance management has always been a CAQ priority. Before the pandemic hit, the CAQ team achieved historic surpluses, among the highest in the Western world. Unfortunately, as was the case everywhere else in the world, COVID 19 had great economic impacts in the province. Our government was, however, able to mitigate them by intervening in vulnerable sectors and providing support to all Quebecers. Today, Québec’s economy has rebounded and performs strongly once again, allowing our government to implement a responsible five-year plan to return to a balanced budget.

Right at the start of its term in office, the CAQ government, adopted a clear and efficient strategy to reduce in the long-term the burden of Québec’s debt. This reduction will create an economic climate of trust favourable to private investment. It will also allow stable recurrent financing of key sectors such as Education and Healthcare. It will also let us leave to future generations a Québec in much better economic health.

As it had promised, the CAQ government increased Healthcare and Education budgets. Rather than make their networks bear endless cycles of financing ups and downs that do nothing but weaken them, our government has adopted a responsible attitude and maintained financing levels for these two key sectors.

Since the beginning of his term, Premier Legault has multiplied economic announcement and projects creating thousands of well-paying jobs in regions. The CAQ’s economic team has relied on sustainable regional projects such as wind power, electric transport, aerospace, food autonomy, and tourism. This has allowed long-term revitalization of municipalities all over Québec, while developing promising sectors.

After lagging behind its neighbours for a long time, especially Ontario, Québec can now show an enviable financial balance sheet. As the pandemic slowly winds down, Québec’s deficit is under control. It also has a solid plan to return to a balanced budget and reduce its debt burden without having to resort to austerity measures. This is a consequence of the CAQ government’s rigorous and pragmatic management of public finances.

To help counter manpower shortages in certain sectors, the CAQ government has developed Opération main-d’œuvre, with a $3.9 billion budget. It is the first step in a vast action plan aimed at countering the combined effects of population aging and of our strong economic growth. To respond to such challenges, the government is putting forward some 80 operations targeting key sectors of activity, like public healthcare and education services, engineering, and computer science. The government is also helping many workers get new qualifications in sustainable and in-demand sectors.

Using all possible means to boost Québec’s economy, the CAQ government has introduced programs to incite retirees to return to work and help reduce manpower shortages in many sectors. This includes enhancing the income-tax credits for career extension and a tax credit for small businesses to compensate social benefit costs for 60-year and older workers. The government has also taken specific actions to encourage retired public sector workers to return to work part-time, particularly in Education and Healthcare.

Since 2018, the CAQ government has spent over $510 million to fight domestic violence. It also instigated, in March 2021, a wide-ranging and detailed action plan in the matter, setting aside a historic $223 million 5-year budget for it. Premier Legault, Vice Premier Geneviève Guilbault and Minister for the Status of Women, Isabelle Charest, have all been clear: domestic violence must stop.

Starting this Spring, the CAQ government is introducing tracking bracelets to protect domestic violence victims across Québec. This geo-tracking technology emits an alert if an offender approaches his victim, instantly triggering police intervention. This is another way to prevent domestic violence and offer greater peace of mind to victims of violent partners. The program, a first in Canada, demonstrates once more how Québec is a pioneer in the matter.

As it had promised, the CAQ government has strived to improve the status of primary and high school teachers by awarding them unprecedented wage increases. This represents concrete action to provide better working conditions to the women and men who teach and care for our children. It will also make this career more attractive for young candidates to offset current personnel shortages. This new agreement has been described as historic by certain union officers.

To support the teachers’ remarkable work and meet the needs of all Québec children, the CAQ government has invested massively in Education over the last four years. Thus, 726 special classrooms have been created, and hundreds of professionals (speech therapists, psycho-educators, reading therapists, etc.) hired to better care for students with learning disabilities. This is concrete action to help all children achieve academic success.

The CAQ government is determined to eradicate all forms of violence Québec women are subjected to. Women have the right to a safe and decent life. Therefore, the government has created a special court for cases of sexual and domestic violence. Thanks to this decision, victims will be better supported. In this new context, they will be met with comprehension and treated with sensitivity so that justice may be rendered.

The CAQ government aims to build more beautiful schools across Québec. The physical environment in which our children learn can greatly influence their academic success. Unfortunately, previous governments lacked ambition for our youths. The government is taking action to correct the situation by investing massively in school renovation and construction designed to motivate young students to study and stay in school for as long as possible. We have a lot of catching up to do, but work is under way and a new generation of schools is being built everywhere in the province.

The CAQ government does everything it can to ensure Québec young persons’ well-being and development in school. It is important all have access to culture and sports, regardless of their milieu, origins, or region. Our government has allowed more time to culture, sports activities, and recreation for our youths to motivate and nurture their success.

The CAQ government has invested massively to make sport activities more accessible to our children and youth, as part of school programs, and at recreational or competitive levels. The pandemic has reminded us how important regular sports activities are for the mental and physical health of our children. Among many actions taken to encourage young people to be active, Premier Legault and Minister of Sports, Isabelle Charest, announced the creation of an expert committee dedicated to hockey development to foster fun and excellence in our national sport, for girls and boys alike.

Thanks to good economic management on the part of the CAQ government and to the hard work of all Quebecers, our economy has quickly regained what it had lost during the pandemic. In 2021 for instance, Québec economic growth was stronger than that of Ontario, the rest of Canada and even the United States. With the CAQ economic team, Quebecers have all the reasons in the world to be ambitious.

In February 2022, the unemployment rate in Québec stood at 4.5%, the lowest in Canada. That means our labour market has recovered from the pandemic, and we have now reached full employment. Further proof of the beneficial effect of the CAQ government on Québec’s economy.

Since the start of its term, the CAQ government has brought support to people living in poverty, for instance by reinvesting in community organizations. As a result, welfare recipient numbers have shrunk by more than 90,000, or some 25%, since 2018. Our government also raised the minimum wage to nearly $15/hr currently.

A long-standing promise of François Legault, the reform of Investissement Québec was initiated in the first few weeks of his term in office. Together with Minister of Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, our government transformed its investment arm to strengthen its regional presence, reduce paperwork for entrepreneurs and accelerate the achievement of promising projects. Businesses in all regions can now rely on a team of professionals that is more agile, more proactive, and not afraid to take risks to innovate. This reform has already resulted in the creation of thousands of well-paying jobs in all regions.

Québec has great potential to attract foreign investments and increase exports in forward-looking sectors, such as the Green Economy.Québec delegations have changed economic track and now focus on creating wealth in Québec. Our Minister of International Relations, Nadine Girault, has bolstered the economic personnel of our international bureaus to offer better support to our entrepreneurs and convince more foreign companies to invest in the province. New Investissement Québec teams have also been deployed abroad. Despite the pandemic, this reform has already generated important dividends for all of us.

In his book published in 2013, Cap sur un Québec gagnant : le projet Saint-Laurent, François Legault described his vision of a valley of innovation that would propel Québec to the forefront of economic sectors of the future. Mr. Legault’s ambition was to create dedicated environments comparable to Boston or Silicon Valley, where entrepreneurs and university researchers can pool their talents and knowledge. This vision became real in 2021, when the premier and his economic team unveiled the first two digital innovation zones in the Eastern Townships. Many more are in development across Québec. This is but the beginning of a movement to propel Québec’s economy into the future.

For many decades now, Québec’s economy has lagged behind Ontario’s. While previous governments resigned themselves to this situation, Premier Legault has resolved to close that gap and create wealth for all Quebecers. After a first term in office, the results speak for themselves. The difference has been significantly reduced since the onset of the CAQ government, and all signs indicate this trend will continue. Québec’s economy currently performs better than that of Ontario, the rest of Canada and even the United States. As well, Québec is ideally positioned to become a leader in promising sectors, such as battery production, electric transport, and artificial intelligence. Premier Legault and Minister of Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon unveiled in 2021 an economic strategy focused on a clear objective: closing the wealth gap between Québec and Ontario.

With François Legault, Quebecers have elected a Premier who listens, is in-touch with the real concerns of the people, and never takes for granted the population’s trust. He is also attuned to the economy, working every day to create wealth for all of us and support entrepreneurs of all regions.

Over the last four years, Quebecers have come to know a strong ministerial team who fulfill their promises while remaining in touch with the population. With Christian Dubé, Geneviève Guilbault, Sonia Lebel, Éric Girard, Simon Jolin-Barrette or Isabelle Charest, the Legault government can count on competent ministers who have entered politics for the right reasons. All work tirelessly each day to do more and better for Québec. They are supported by a large MNA family that makes sure they represent each region’s point of view. After 15 years of Liberal reign, this team for change has brought a breath of fresh air to Québec. They guided us through one of the worst crises in our history and now view Québec’s future with confidence.

Even though the pandemic has slowed down the progress of many projects, the Legault government was able to fulfill nearly all its electoral promises. CAQ ministers have managed, under difficult circumstances, to deliver on more commitments than previous governments. Over a hundred major changes have been made, and numerous regional undertakings have been realized.

With the Maisons des aînés, the Legault government is profoundly changing the way the needs of the elderly are met. The Maisons des aînés are living environments on a human scale, with small numbers of residents, quiet rooms, private bathrooms, and light-filled common areas. The concept is simple: residents must feel at home. As well, healthcare professionals who care for them must work in an environment that is both pleasant and adapted to their practice. Many Maisons des aînés are nearing completion all over Québec. This is nothing less than a small revolution after 15 years of Liberal neglect.

The CAQ team promised to keep listening to the people and never take their trust for granted. By correcting its course when the situation demanded it, by being able to admit mistakes, the Legault Government has shown that it is not boxed into a rigid ideology or afflicted by tunnel vision. It makes pragmatic decisions in-tune with the concerns of Quebecers.

While building the new Maisons des aînés, the Legault government has undertaken to renovate existing CHSLDs to quickly improve living conditions for the most vulnerable elderly. The objective is to humanize these living environments, while providing more efficient healthcare – in line with the vision of the Maisons des aînés. There is much catching up to do, but progress in being made everywhere in Québec.

The Legault government has made a crucial shift toward home-based care to help seniors stay at home and maintain their autonomy for as long as possible. Major investments were made in the last four years, to hire more personnel and to raise the tax credit for home support for seniors. This key part of the Dubé healthcare plan will help reduce the pressure on hospitals and CHSLDs.

In 2021, thanks mainly to Marguerite Blais’s leadership, the Legault government adopted the first national family caregiver policy in Québec history. This significant gesture aimed to recognize the crucial role played by family caregivers. The policy was accompanied by an action plan and a historic $200 million investment to take care and support caregivers. As promised, the Legault government also opened nine new Gilles-Carle centres to provide help and respite to caregivers.

The pandemic has reminded us of what an important role care attendants play. However, these workers have had to accept for far too long salaries disproportionate to their dedication. Our government put an end to this injustice with historic wage increases. Not only does that help improve care attendants’ working conditions, but also attract new candidates to provide better services to seniors.

François Legault did not enter politics to manage a pandemic, even less to impose restrictions upon Quebecers. When the storm hit, however, he rose to the challenge. He listened to science, acted quickly, and made decisions that were needed to save as many lives as possible. He appeared on TV almost every day during the first wave, to inform the public and answer press questions. Thanks to his leadership, Quebecers showed their best qualities: solidarity, mutual aid, and unity.

The first wave of the pandemic highlighted Québec’s serious shortcomings in care for the elderly, shortcomings worsened by the successive reforms of the Liberal government. In CHSLDs, the most acute problem was the shortage of personnel. To correct that situation as quickly as possible and prepare for the next waves of the pandemic, the government succeeded in training a record number of new attendants in just a few months. Few people believed that would be possible, but Premier Legault marshalled the resources of the healthcare and education networks to reach the objective before the second wave. This action made all the difference, for the rest of the pandemic.

With its plan for a green economy, the Legault government put forward a realistic and well-funded roadmap to reach Québec’s greenhouse gas reduction objectives before 2030. This is the first time a Québec government enacts such a complete and rigorous plan. Rather than be content with soothing words or symbolic measures, the Minister of Environment, Benoit Charette, acted without delay to identify a series of concrete actions to reduce GHG emission while creating wealth for Québec. This plan rests mainly on transport electrification thanks to our clean electricity. Over $7.6 billion will be allotted to this effort over the next 5 years. The Legault government is taking concrete steps so that Québec does its part in the fight against climate change and is at the forefront of the green economy.

In his fall 2021 session opening remarks, Premier Legault announced the end of natural gas and petroleum prospecting and production in Québec. A few months later, this became fact with the passing of a bill at the National Assembly. Québec then became the first administration in North America, and only the third in the world, to take such action. This strong signal reinforces our leadership in the transition to clean energy and a green economy.

Minister of Health, Christian Dubé showed his exceptional management skills with the vaccination campaign. Quebecers were able to set up appointments online easily and quickly via the Clic Santé portal, an important innovation for the healthcare network that was late in taking advantage of information technology. Minister Dubé was also able to recruit a great number of vaccinators from various professions. As a result, Québec quickly joined the most efficient countries for the administration of first and second vaccine doses. This allowed Quebecers to be better protected.

Quebecers had been asking for many years that wine and hard liquor bottles become refundable. The Legault government took steps to do so at the beginning of its term. The new list will not only include liquor bottles, but also many other types of containers, such as plastic water bottles and juice cartons. This will help Quebecers do their part for the environment by recycling more. Pilot projects are already in place in many municipalities so that the new system can be rolled out to the rest of the province within a year.

Worldwide, governments are turning to electricity for mass and individual transit. For Québec, this is a great opportunity. We have unique assets to promote in this matter: large reserves of strategic minerals used in battery production such as lithium and nickel; green low-cost energy; the infrastructure to produce the world’s cleanest aluminum; and especially, growing expertise among our businesses. By banking on its strengths, Québec can become a world leader in electric transport and batteries. The government has taken strong action to achieve that vision and ensure it benefits our workers. The Minister of Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, presented a development strategy for batteries that has started to bear fruit, with recent major investments in Québec by giants such as GM, Alstom, Volvo and BASF.

The Legault government provided important financial support for families by refunding up to $250 of the cost of prescription glasses for each of their under 18 children. The refund system is very practical and easily accessible for parents. Regardless of the cost of the glasses, the amount of $250 is paid out. More than 100,000 children have already gotten glasses because of that. This concrete action returns money into the pockets of Québec families and is important for the academic success of children in need of glasses.

By increasing family allowance in the first months of its term, the Legault government returned $800 million yearly into the pockets of Québec parents. Now, every child of the same family benefits from the same amount. That represents thousands of dollars per year for families. A true breath of fresh air for many Québec families who have difficulty making ends meet.

The Liberal government opted to impose a major daycare fee hike to Québec parents. As promised, the Legault government eliminated this Liberal family tax, to roll back daycare costs to a unique daily rate of $8.50. This represents $190 million more yearly for Québec families.

The women and men who care for our little ones deserve better working conditions. This is why the Legault government has awarded historic wage increases to daycare educators. This brings more value to their essential work, while making is easier to recruit new personnel and provide better service to children.

Québec daycare network makes it a world leader in access to children’s educational services. It also helps make Québec’s level of women’s employment one of the highest in the world. However, this system is not perfect. In the last few years, thousands of new parents have had difficulty finding daycare space for their child. The Legault government has therefore launched a vast program to complete the children educational services network before 2025. By then, all parents will be able to easily find places for their children, in all regions. Work has greatly progressed in the last four years, and the pace is quickening. This represents a great advance, after years of stagnation under the Liberal government.

No other government has invested as much in mass transit projects. With the REM expansion to the east and south shore of Montréal, the Capital express network in Québec City, the RBS line on Pie-IX Boulevard and the extension of the Blue Metro Line in Montréal, or the improvement of collective transport in Gatineau, the government takes action to develop more efficient and accessible mass transit networks. Investments are also made to enhance regional mass transit offering. These projects include as much as possible clauses stipulating the purchase of railroad cars and buses made in Québec. These projects not only combat climate change and improve Quebecer mobility, but also create wealth in the province.

The Legault government is investing like never before in the electrification of city and school buses. In 2021, it announced the largest order of electric city buses in North America. The government is also moving to progressively electrify Québec’s school bus fleet. This transition is being carried out using, as much as possible, Québec bus manufacturers’ expertise. These initiatives will help curb GHG emissions, while creating wealth for the province.

When François Legault promised in 2018 to connect all Québec households to high-speed internet, many were skeptical. All parties had promised the same thing in the previous 15 years without being able to deliver once in power. Four years later, skeptics have been proven wrong. After an unprecedented effort from the government to accelerate the work of suppliers, all Québec households will be connected in fall 2022, providing a crucial regional connexion and development tool.

Spectacular landscapes and tourist attractions abound in Québec outer regions, such as the Gaspé Peninsula, Lower St-Lawrence, Magdalen Islands, the North Shore, or Abitibi. Plane fares to reach them were, however, prohibitive for many travellers. In certain regions, plane tickets to Montréal or Québec City were almost as expensive as tickets to Europe. All that is changed at last. A new program makes it possible to offer return tickets to these regions for only $500. This will attract more tourists all over Québec throughout the year and make travel to regions easier for workers and businesspeople. This change is important to interconnect all regions of Québec.

As promised, we have launched an initiative to move 5,000 government jobs to regions, including 2,000 during a first term. This will create quality jobs away from large cities, and also bring civil servants closer to their field by decentralizing ministries that are particularly active in regions, such as tourism, agriculture, fisheries, and natural resources. This represents strong action from a true government of regions.

With the reform of Investissement Québec and the creation of Accès entreprise Québec, our government has never been more present to generate wealth for regions and support businesses. Throughout his term in office, Premier Legault together with entrepreneurs multiplied announcements of investment projects and the creation of hundreds of well-paying jobs. This new wave of development helped all regions that are at the heart of the CAQ’s economic vision give rise to new industries everywhere in the province.

After 15 years of Liberal government, Quebecers now have a premier who resists federal attempts to intrude in our areas of competence. Québec now enjoys a stronger power balance with Ottawa, enabling us to protect Québec’s autonomy, identity, and language.

With Bill 96 to strengthen protection of the French language, the Legault government is also making a historic gesture by adding to the Constitution the fact that Québec is a nation having French as its official language. That is concrete action from a nationalist government.

With previous Liberal governments, Quebecers had gotten used to an attitude of resignation in relations with Ottawa. Premier Legault has changed that by embracing Québec historical demands. He repeated demands for increased federal health transfers and more control on immigration. Quebecers now have a government that pushes their demands with energy.

Relying on the expertise of Minister Lionel Carmant, an internationally renown neurologist, the Legault government enacted the Agir tôt program with teams of specialists all over Québec for the early detection of learning deficiencies among children aged 0 to 5, to offer them services they need during their first years of development and to prevent educational lags. Thousands of children have already benefited from this service.

The Legault government has deployed a new network of free nurseries for four-year-old children across Québec. This network is still expanding but, it already benefits thousands of families. Such nurseries can offer more specialized educational services and better support to children with learning difficulties. They are a complement to the province’s daycare network and help provide more services to Québec families.

In 2019, Québec witnessed the tragic death of a young Granby girl who was avictim of severe mistreatment. Premier Legault promised to do all he could to prevent the recurrence of such a situation. He created a commission to conduct an in-depth review of youth protection services in Québec. Chaired by Régine Laurent, the commission formulated practical recommendations to better protect Québec children and youths.

Following publication of the report of the Laurent commission on children’s rights and youth protection, Premier Legault and Minister Lionel Carmant vowed to quickly implement its recommendations. With the adoption of a bill on youth protection, Minister Carman fulfilled this commitment, notably reinforcing the concept of the child’s interest. Going forward, decisions concerning a child’s future must be taken after first considering this principle, to prevent the child from being maintained in a toxic environment.

Since 2018, the Legault government announced unprecedented investments in culture to support our artists and artisans. The pandemic has had devastating effects on the cultural industry, but the government stood by to help its recovery, with an investment of over $225 million hailed by major industry players. Culture has once again become a key Québec government priority.

The Legault government has invested major sums to better protect and improve historic buildings in all regions. This helps hundreds of Québec families and municipalities care for their heritage properties. The Cultural heritage act was also amended to better protect and promote learning about our heritage buildings. This helps preserve our collective history and enhance the beauty of our cities, towns, and villages.

A key priority of Premier Legault is to restore pride within our population. With the Espaces bleus, people will have access to a new museum network established all over Québec to celebrate our culture, history, heroes, and each region’s particularities. These museums will be housed in heritage buildings as much as possible, giving them a new lease on life. This will not only stir and strengthen our collective pride, but also attract more tourists to our regions.

In recent years, data leaks and cyber attacks have multiplied all over the world. Québec is no exception. With this new ministry, the CAQ government has provided Québec with a tool dedicated to the protection of Quebecers’ data and privacy. This will also accelerate the transition to information technologies within the state, to offer more efficient services, especially in the education and healthcare networks, as well as in the justice system. Quebecers will therefore be able to obtain online services more easily.

The pandemic underlined the shortcomings of our healthcare network in information technologies. With Minister Dubé’s plan, Québec undertakes at last the necessary technological catch up. This will result in more efficient services and make it easier for Quebecers to access healthcare professionals, much like what Clic Santé did so successfully during the vaccination campaign.

As promised, the Legault government cut down red tape and administrative workloads in many domains, particularly for entrepreneurs. It also set up a more advanced performance tracking system to better control state expenditures, with public dashboards for all ministries. Quebecers will now get more for their money.

Québec farmers had been requesting for a long time a reform of agricultural property taxes. The CAQ government delivered by reducing paperwork and the fiscal burden farm owners had to bear. This reform has already benefited more than 40,000 agricultural landowners. It reduced their exchanges with the ministry by two thirds and lowered the fiscal burden of agriculture by more than $70 million over 10 years.

As promised, the Legault government amended the Food Products Act and Regulations to reduce paperwork, administrative costs, and useless delays for food companies. Over 52,000 bio-food companies across Québec benefit from this reform. More resources can now be allocated to make our businesses prosper and strengthen our food autonomy.

At the start of its term, the CAQ government made sure to protect and adequately compensate Québec farmers ahead of NAFTA renegotiations.

Before his election, Premier François Legault presented his vision of a Québec that would become the green battery of northeastern America by exporting its hydroelectricity. This would help enrich us collectively while helping our neighbours reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Many were skeptical, but Premier Legault’s vision has become a reality. With the export contract to New York, extra revenues totalling billions of dollars will benefit Quebecers for decades. It will also help eliminate the equivalent of 500,000 cars from New York streets. This is a major contribution to the fight against climate change.

In addition to hydroelectricity export contracts already concluded, such as the important agreement with New York, the CAQ government continues to promote the benefit of Québec’s clean electricity to our neighbours and develop new renewable energy production, especially wind power. Not many people believed it but the ambition of making Québec the green battery of northeastern America is becoming a reality. This represents an exceptional wealth creation lever for all Quebecers while reducing GHG across our borders.

In recent years, Québec has witnessed an increase of firearm violence, particularly in Greater Montréal. Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault, addressed the problem head on, by providing more resources to police agents to help them combat arms trafficking and street gangs. The CAQ government is taking action to protect the security of Quebecer and strengthen police forces.

The sexual exploitation of minors is a plague that still afflicts too many young Québec women. The Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault, and the Minister for the Status of Women, Isabelle Charest, created new programs to combat this phenomenon, notably with a new action plan. More than $150 million dollars were invested in the program to fight pimping, prevent sexual exploitation, and support victims. The CAQ government takes concrete action against the sexual exploitation of minors.

Rather than dividing us with controversial concepts, the CAQ government has taken a series of actions to combat racism. For the first time, Québec has named a minister responsible for the fight against racism, Benoit Charette. Many actions have already been taken, to sensitize young people and fight discrimination in housing access or the workplace. The Minister of Native Affairs, Ian Lafrenière, is also striving to establish new win-win partnerships with first nations. Work is continuing in the right direction. Quebecers are open and tolerant people. The CAQ government is taking practical actions to protect the cohesion and solidarity that define us.

The CAQ government has made good its commitment to refund one cycle of medically assisted procreation for infertile couples wishing to start a family. It has also simplified access to the income-tax credit for infertility treatment. To this day, thousands of Québec families have taken advantage of this program.

The CAQ government has taken concrete action to ease low-income Quebecers’ access to affordable housing. It increased the housing allocation and invested $3 billion in the renovation of thousands of HLM in all regions. As promised, we have also invested $800 million in the construction of 15,000 new affordable housing units. There are already 8,000 built or under construction everywhere in Québec. There is still a lot of work to do to make housing more accessible, but the government is taking action.

With the CAQ government, Québec has finally met its international commitments for protected areas. The Minister of Environment, Benoit Charette, is hard at work to do more. Here is a concrete way to protect our forests and waterways.