MRC Pontiac faced with a budgetary headache for 2015?

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Arnaud de la Salle


Arnaud de la Salle

CAMPBELL’S BAY – The monthly Council of Mayors meeting, held October 28, revealed a complicated       situation the MRC Pontiac will have to face in the near future. Due to cuts recently adopted by the provincial government to balance budgets or reach ‘deficit zero’, the MRC Pontiac must develop a coordinated strategy to deal with the government’s    budgetary requirements.
MRC Warden Raymond Durocher addressed the council about the government’s proposed Bills 10 and 15 in the health care domains, but also those    concerning the elimination of the CLDs, CREO, and regional school boards.
Remi Bertrand, MRC Pontiac Executive Director, noted that certain MRCs in Quebec have requested to postpone the adoption of their budgets this year until there is more clarity     regarding the cuts.
Durocher explained the provincial government’s policies are aimed at removing entire levels of the civil service and replacing them with central agencies to make significant cost savings. According to him, the        government is attempting to save money in areas where there is no money to be saved and that the proposed cuts are acts of penny-   pinching. He added that our local health care system, which has been operating efficiently with very little deficit, has much to lose in this situation. Durocher   finds it very unlikely that services will be able to be maintained when the goal is to make $220 million in budget cuts.