Marois unveils pq platform

The Parti Québécois hopes to shore up Quebec’s economy in an effort to stave off a recession, as well as making new investments in education, public transportation and tax refunds for low income families.
“The day after our election, the first act to consume our energy will be the implementation of concrete measures to hinder the effects of the global economical crisis which is right on our door step,” said party leader Pauline Marois.
Marois announced the party’s full platform at a lunch-time speech for the Montreal Board of Trade on Friday. Some parts of the platform were announced earlier in the day at Montreal City Hall.
Among the plans to help Quebec businesses is a promise of guaranteed loans for small businesses in the manufacturing sector and for companies that have lower tax rates. A PQ government would also give $10 billion to larger companies over a seven-year period.
In an effort to help families and to stimulate consumption, her party would offer an additional $200 refundable sales-tax credit to lower income families. For middle class families the PQ is promissing a two-year non-refundable tax credit on mortgages, equivalent to 20 per cent of the first $5,000 charged in interest.
Marois is also promising to invest an addition $400 million into education, saying spending on education would pave the way for the creation of a strong work force likely to be more competitive on the international markets.
Marois also tried to appeal to Montrealers with plans to reduce congestion on city roads. She plans to invest $3.5 billion into public transportation. Included in the new money is funding for increased number of trains on the metro, extending the blue line to Pie IX and more buses from downtown Montreal to Brossard and the airport.
“Everyone of these investments [in public transportation] have been calculated into our budget,” Marois said. “They correspond exactly to what the cities are asking for.”
Marois said her party would also invest in Quebec’s day-care system, which she described as inadequate. Marois said that under a PQ government every child in Quebec will have spot in the day-care system.