Quebec opposition rejects fee increases

Opposition partiesin Quebec's National Assembly are vowing to fight plans to increase user fees, as the government considers digging into taxpayers' pockets to put the province back in the black.

At a Liberal Party meeting Sunday in Drummondville, Premier Jean Charest said Quebecers would have to pay more for public services as the province copes with a $3.9-billion deficit.

The majority of Liberal delegates there voted in favour of fee hikes and new charges for public services.

They also supported motions to reinstate highway tolls, introduce a congestion charge for traffic in the Montreal region and add a new junk food tax.

Parti Qubcois Leader Pauline Marois rejected the idea.

'We have to realize that in the CEGEP system, we're running out of money. And, where do we get the money?' Robert Jean, director Champlain-St Lawrence College

"We're not out of the economic crisis," said Marois, warning that hitting Quebecers with new fees would slow the province's economic recovery.

Marois said the idea of increasing the financial burden of families while the province's unemployment rate continues to grow is "odious."

L'Action Dmocratique du Qubec said it is in favour of increased user fees but not until the government has proven it has brought new spending under control.

"Before raising any fees, they have to show they've done their homework," finance critic Francois Bonnardel said.

CEGEP tuition?

A proposal to introduce modest tuition fees for Quebec's currently free junior colleges has received a chilly reception from students and teachers groups.

"The goal of the creation of CEGEPs was to ensure the financial accessibility of post-secondary studies that is why for more than 40 years, CEGEPs have been free," said Edenilson Castro, spokesman for the students association at Quebec's National Aerotechnical School, in Longueuil.

Micheline Thibodeau, vice-president for one of Quebec's teachers unions, called establishing fees for CEGEPs an"aberration."

"It seems that the Liberal Party lacks ideas at the moment, and the only thing it can think of is increasing tariffs," she said.

Robert Jean, director of Champlain-St-Lawrence College in Quebec City, said the time has come for students to pay for their CEGEP education.

"We have to realize that in the CEGEP system, we're running out of money.And where do we get the money?" The government said it would take some time to study the party's recommendations.

A 10 per cent increase in hydroelectricity rates would bring in a billion dollars a year for the province.

Family Minister Tony Tomassi said the cost of Quebec's subsidized $7-a-day daycare would remain unchanged.