MONTRÉAL - This morning, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation of Taxpayers (CTF) sent the following correspondence to the Minister of Finance of Quebec, Carlos Leitao, to inform him of the CTF's demands and concerns for the 2017-2018 budget:

Minister,

Your efforts to put Quebec's public finances in order are commendable. Even if some of the burden has fallen on the shoulders of taxpayers, you have managed to eliminate the deficit and restore the confidence of the credit agencies in the Government of Quebec. Taxpayers, both present and future, are grateful to you.

During the 2014 election campaign, the Liberal Party of Quebec promised that any budgetary surplus would be devoted exclusively to reducing the tax burden of the people of Quebec and repaying debt. Minister, on behalf of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, I ask you to honor this commitment. It was a noble commitment and recognized all the pressures that weigh on Quebec families struggling to make ends meet.

Your willingness to make payments on our debt also recognized the danger that threatens the collective portfolio of Quebeckers. As you are undoubtedly aware, Quebec taxpayers collectively pay more than $10 billion in interest annually to the government's creditors. This is one of the biggest budget items and it is money that can not be invested in such things as our justice system. Year after year, the Quebec government drags this debt ball.

While you are preparing the 2017-2018 budget, Quebeckers are busy buying Christmas presents for their loved ones. They do this with one of the lowest average disposable incomes in North America. This is not surprising given the taxes they pay each year to the Québec government. Mr. Minister, you have balanced the budget, but it is time to take the next step by dealing first and foremost with the structural problems of the "Quebec model" that put us in a deficit situation. One can not continue to make decisions according to the same spending and interventionist model while expecting different results. That is why you are making a mistake by using the surplus to generate new government spending. A budgetary surplus does not mean the state is spending to little, rather it is saying the government is taxing its citizens too much. You have the opportunity to correct this error and I urge you to do the right thing and alleviate Quebeckers who are choking under this tax burden.

To conclude, as part of your preparations for the 2017-2018 budget, I would like your government to also examine ways that Quebec could overcome its dependence on the equalization system. While it is true that Quebec has reached a zero deficit, it has done so in part through equalization transfers, which in our view is not a long-term, sustainable solution.

We know that your government receives many requests for funding from various lobby groups and that it takes the time to meet with these groups. On behalf of those who do not want new spending and want a reduction in the tax burden, I am available for a meeting if you would like to discuss how the government could relieve taxpayers.

Yours sincerely,

Carl Vallée, Quebec Director of the CTF