Economic policy Charest increased the
Quebec sales tax (QST) thrice. In 2011, his government raised the rate from 7.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent before raising it to 9.5 per cent in 2012. The third and last hike came into effect in 2013, with the rate rising to 9.975 per cent. In October 2007, Quebec became the first province in Canada to implement a
carbon tax. At the time it was implemented, the tax amounted to 0.8 cents per litre of gas and 0.9 cents per litre of diesel fuel.
Consul General Peter O'Donohue in November 2010 Much of the
fiscal policy of the Charest government was based upon the expectation that new revenues could be obtained from a resolution of the fiscal imbalance believed to exist between the federal and provincial governments. The
Harper government was widely expected to address this issue through increased
equalization payments, while falling short of Quebec's overall demands. Charest was an early proponent of free trade with the
European Union, which eventually manifested in the 2016
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.
Plan Nord In May 2011, Charest's government launched the
Plan Nord, an economic development strategy to develop the natural resources extraction sector in the part of Quebec to the north of the 49th parallel. The plan, to be carried out over 25 years, would foster over C$80 billion in energy, mining, and forestry investments and create or consolidate 20,000 jobs a year for the duration. The proposed plan, described as "a potential centrepiece" of Charest's political legacy, received the full support of the mining industry, the
Crees and
Inuit representatives but was met with scepticism and downright opposition by the
Innus and most environmentalists.
Environmental policy (left),
Stephen Harper (centre) and Jean Charest at the
Forum mondial de la langue française in
Quebec City on July 2, 2012. Charest also attempted to distinguish himself on the issue of the environment. His vocal opposition to the federal decision to opt out of the
Kyoto Accord, and his insistence that Quebec would seek to meet its own Kyoto targets has earned him considerable support. His government set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets, petroleum royalties, and a 2011-2020 Action Plan for Electric Vehicles. He also established the Sustainable Development Act, which adds to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms the right for every person to live in a healthful environment in which biodiversity is preserved. In 2012, Charest was awarded the Fray International Sustainability Award for his work and advocacy towards sustainable development in politics.
Other policy In the 2003 election, Charest had promised to allow the cities that had been forcibly merged by the Parti Québécois government to hold referendums which would allow to
demerge and return to their previous situation. This promise was seen as key to his victory in many ridings, such as those in the suburbs around
Longueuil and
Quebec City and the continued support of the Anglophone community in the West Island of
Montreal. In office, however, Charest retreated from his promise. Municipalities were allowed to hold demerger referendums if at least 10 per cent of the electorate signed a petition calling for them, and only if more than 35 per cent participated in the voting process. In some former municipalities, such as
Saint Laurent on the Island of Montreal, the turnout of the vote was of 75.2 per cent in favour of a demerger, but it was invalidated because the voter turnout was just 28.6 per cent. The demerger process also resulted in the restructuring of the existing
megacities, with both these and the demerged cities handing over massive powers over
taxation and local services to the new "agglomeration councils". The makeup of these councils was based on the population of the municipalities involved, with the mayors having the right to unilaterally appoint all of the individuals who would represent their cities on the council. The resulting structure was seen by many to be less democratic than the one which had preceded it, as demerged
municipalities were denied an effective voice, and the city councils of the major cities were substantially weakened by the power of the mayors to go over the heads of opposition councillors and exercise power through their appointees to the
agglomeration body. During his mandate as Premier, Charest made some efforts to expand the place of Québec in the international community. The province was granted representation at
UNESCO, the cultural branch of the
United Nations. Charest also voiced some support for the
Calgary Declaration (1997), which recognized Quebec as "unique." During the debate in the Parliament of Canada over
recognizing Quebec as a nation within Canada, Charest stated that Quebec was a "nation" no matter what other parts of Canada said—that this was not up to anyone else to define.
2012 student protests In 2011, the Charest government decided to increase the tuition fees in all Quebec universities. Three major student unions began to organise demonstrations in
Montreal and in
Quebec City. In March 2012, many CEGEPs and universities voted for a student strike. The government faced major challenges when students demonstrated and went on strike by boycotting classes to protest planned tuition increases. Every month large demonstrations took place in several cities across
Quebec. The Premier and his government were accused by some, including the students unions, the
PQ and
Québec Solidaire of being too hard. On May 4, 2012, the
Quebec Liberal Party held a party conference in
Victoriaville and a student demonstration was suppressed by
Sûreté du Québec police. On May 14, 2012, then
Deputy Premier and
Education minister,
Line Beauchamp resigned and
Michelle Courchesne was appointed
Deputy Premier and
Minister of Education. The government passed
Bill 78 to impose restrictions on protests; this caused controversy, with the Barreau du Québec, among others, expressing concern about possible infringement of constitutional rights. Bill 78 was revoked by the
Pauline Marois government.
Controversies On December 6, 2007, the Opposition urged Charest to testify to the
House of Commons of Canada Ethics Committee in its investigation of
Karlheinz Schreiber. Schreiber told the committee he paid
$30,000 in cash to Charest's brother to help fund Charest's 1993 leadership bid for the federal
Progressive Conservative party. Charest's third term was marked by several allegations of questionable financing from the Quebec Liberal Party as well as a multitude of scandals in the construction sector in Quebec, the loss of $39.8 billion from the
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and the
Marc Bellemare (Charest's former justice minister) affair. Bellemare alleged in 2010 that he had been pressured by Quebec Liberal fundraisers during the appointment of judges in 2003. In response, the Charest government created the Bastarache commission, where Charest testified in defence. Charest however refused to launch a public inquiry into the collusion and financing of political parties and corruption in the construction industry, despite a 2011 survey indicating that 77 per cent of Quebecers demanded such an inquiry. Charest finally launched an inquiry in 2012 through the creation of the
Charbonneau commission in response to rising discontent within the Quebec Liberal caucus.
Elections 2007 Quebec election The Charest government was deeply unpopular during its first years in office, with a public approval rating of below 50 per cent in most opinion polls and falling to the low twenties in voter support. In the first few weeks after
André Boisclair was elected leader of the PQ, polls showed that Charest and the Liberals would be roundly defeated in the next election. Boisclair did not perform well as Leader of the Opposition, and Charest's numbers recovered somewhat. A poll conducted by
Léger Marketing for
Le Devoir placed the Liberals at 34 per cent against 32 per cent for the PQ and 24 per cent for the
ADQ, with Charest obtaining a higher personal approval rating than the PQ leader. Liberal support, however remained heavily concentrated in
Anglophone and
Allophone ridings in the west of Montreal, meaning that the increase in support would not necessarily translate into seats. On February 21, 2007, Charest asked the Lieutenant-Governor to dissolve the
National Assembly and call an
election on March 26, 2007. Charest conducted an extraordinary session the day before with Finance Minister
Michel Audet delivering the 2007 budget. Prior to his call for an election, Charest revealed his platform which included income tax cuts of about $250 million. In the last week of the campaign, Charest promised an additional $700 million in tax cuts—some of it coming for the additional equalization money from the 2007 federal budget; reduction of hospital wait times; improvement and increase of French courses at school; an increase of the number of daycare spaces; and an increase in tuition fees for university students ($50 per semester until 2012). The last measure was met with criticism from students' associations, and a more-radical student association, the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (formerly known as the CASSEE) had also considered a strike. Charest won a
minority government in the election, and held onto his own seat. On election night, early numbers had shown Charest losing his seat of
Sherbrooke to his PQ opponent; however, this situation was reversed once it became apparent that the advanced poll ballot boxes which heavily favoured Charest had not yet been counted. The resulting minority government was the first since 1878 when
Charles Boucher de Boucherville was Premier.
2008 Quebec election In November 2008, arguing that Quebecers needed a majority government during difficult economic times, Charest called a
snap election for December 8. His party captured a historic third consecutive term as he brought the Liberals back to majority governance. It was the first time a party had won a third consecutive term in Quebec since the
Quiet Revolution.
2012 Quebec election On August 1, 2012, Charest launched his electoral campaign for the
2012 Quebec general election from the
Quebec Jean-Lesage International Airport with the slogan
For Quebec. The QLP focused its campaign on the issues of respect of the law and civil order, referencing the demonstrations of the previous months. They claimed to be the party of the silent majority who did not support the student protest movement. It was the first provincial election in Quebec to feature the newly formed
CAQ party led by
François Legault on the ballot. On the night of September 4, Charest and his party lost the general election. The result was a hung parliament, with the
Parti Québécois of
Pauline Marois being the party with the most seats (54). The
Quebec Liberal Party became the official opposition with 50 seats. Charest lost his own seat of
Sherbrooke in the
Eastern Townships, a seat that he had held since 1984, both in the federal and provincial legislatures. Charest announced on September 5 in
Quebec City that he would resign as Quebec Liberal Party leader. ==Post-premiership==