Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin wins award for the biggest property tax hike in Quebec
- Property tax rates in Gatineau will go up by 2.1 per cent in 2021.
MONTRÉAL, QC: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation gave Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin the Golden Juicer Award today for the inflicting province’s largest property tax hike.
“We give the Golden Juicer Award to the mayor who demonstrates an unparalleled will to squeeze every last drop of money from taxpayers,” said CTF Quebec Director Renaud Brossard. “There were no individuals more deserving of this award than Gatineau’s own Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin.”
Out of Quebec’s 10 largest cities, Gatineau has adopted the largest property tax hike for 2021. In descending order, here are the property tax hikes adopted by city councils in the province of Quebec:
- Gatineau: 2.1 per cent
- Saguenay: 1.9 per cent
- Sherbrooke: 1.0 per cent
- Trois-Rivières: 0.7 per cent
The cities of Montréal, Québec, Laval, Longeuil, Lévis and Terrebonne opted to freeze property tax rates in 2021.
Following the vote on budget 2021, Pedneaud-Jobin offered an unorthodox reason for raising taxes: “If we want to help the economy, if we want to help our people, we need a minimal tax hike.”
“Pedneaud-Jobin says he wants to help the local economy and his citizens, but hiking taxes will make it harder for struggling local businesses and families to pay their bills,” said Brossard. “If the mayor really wants to help, he should look for efficiencies at city hall and use those savings to cut taxes.”
A photograph of the Golden Juicer Award is available here: http://www.taxpayer.com/media/Presse-Citron_2020-12-17.jpg
A video (in French) of the virtual awards ceremony is available here: https://youtu.be/YjC9XJnUQFI