Quebec Minimum Wage Raised To $9.50

From CBC:

Quebec is increasing its minimum wage by $0.50 to $9.50 per hour, effective May 1, 2010.

Workers in the restaurant and bar industry will also see their minimum salaries rise by $0.25 per hour, to $8.25.

Labour Minister Sam Hamad announced the 5.5 per cent wage increase on Tuesday.

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Quebec Holds Its Own During Downturn: RBC

The Coalition Bois Québec, launched Tuesday at CEGEP Marie Victorin in Montreal, wants to support Quebec's economy by increasing the use of wood as a building material.Photograph by: Marie-France Coallier, The Gazette

From The Montreal Gazette:

MONTREAL - Manitoba likely will be the only Canadian province to show positive growth in 2009, but Quebec’s overall performance during the recession has been relatively strong, financial group RBC says in its latest economic report.

“Strong capital spending on public infrastructure and a resilient housing sector have been Quebec’s main buffers against the downturn,” said Craig Wright, senior vice-president and chief economist for RBC. “While those expenditures are moving forward, private firms have reduced their capital goods spending which is weakening the province’s economic outlook.”

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Desjardins Says Quebec's Recovery Depends On U.S.

From CTV:

Any economic recovery in Quebec and Ontario will be closely linked to that of the U.S., says an economist with Canada's largest financial co-operative group.

Mouvement Desjardins' Joelle Noreau says there's been no clear recovery in Quebec despite 8,300 new jobs created in the province in August.

Quebec's unemployment rate continued to rise to 9.1 per cent last month from 9 per cent in July.

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My Comment: Not a good forecast to rad about on this Labor Day.

Quebec's Recovery Beating Other Provinces: TD

From The CBC:

Quebec's economy is emerging from the global recession in better shape than those of other big provinces such as Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, a report said Tuesday.

TD Bank Financial Group said Quebec's housing market has remained relatively buoyant while the same sector has crumbled in other provinces.

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Update: Restoring Quebec's budget balance will be major challenge, TD Group says -- Montreal Gazette

Quebec Recovering Better From Recession Than Other Big Provinces: TD Bank

From CTV:

A new report says Quebec's economy is emerging from the global recession in better shape than other big provinces such as Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

While those other provinces may be considered Canada's economic heavy-hitters, TD Bank Financial Group says Quebec has avoided the worst.

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Quebec Leads Canadian Economic Rebound: Charest

Quebec Premier Jean Charest, seen in this file photo, said Friday the Quebec economy is in better shape than the rest of the country because its infrastructure spending is flowing while deficits are lower than other jurisdictions. Photograph by: Pierre Obendrauf, Montreal Gazette

From The Calgary Herald:

CHELSEA, Que. — The Quebec economy is in better shape than the rest of the country because its infrastructure spending is flowing while deficits are lower than other jurisdictions, including the federal government, Premier Jean Charest said here Friday.

Charest made the comments standing next to Prime Minister Stephen Harper as they announced a new phase in a construction project extending a highway leading north from Ottawa through the Outaouais region in Quebec.

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My Comment: Surprising as it may sound .... but we are actually better off than most other jurisdictions.

I know .... I am also shocked.

Venture Capital Activity Slows In Quebec

From The Montreal Gazette:

MONTREAL - Quebec's venture capital activity slowed in the second quarter. Reseau Capital said Tuesday that based on Thomson Reuters data about $60 million of venture capital was invested in Quebec companies, down 18 per cent from a year earlier. That was 34 per cent of the total top-risk capital invested across Canada in the June quarter.

The funds were invested in 43 Quebec companies, an increase of 26 per cent year-to-year. The average amount invested was $1.4 million, down from $3.6 million in the first quarter this year and down from $2.2 million a year earlier.

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My Comment: I have been fortunate enough to have done business abroad. So when I look at the venture capital activity in this province .... I must confess that I am embarrassed.

$60 million dollars invested in one quarter .... you got to be kidding.

Housing Starts Rise, But Not Here

Housing starts are expected to improve throughout 2009 and over the next several years, CHMC says. Photograph by: ETHAN MILLER, GETTY IMAGES, Canwest News Service

From The Montreal Gazette:

Quebec lags behind country: Increase eight per cent across Canada.

Home construction rose more than expected in June as Canada's beleaguered housing market showed signs of a possible recovery.

However, Quebec and Montreal did not follow the national trend. Provincial seasonally adjusted starts were down 6.3 per cent in June, to 32,600 from 34,800. The Montreal figures, which compare this June to a year ago, show starts down 19 per cent.

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Quebec To Fight Federal Securities Regulator Plan

Vincent Lacroix, former head of the investment firm Norburg,
heads to court in an undated file photo.

From The CBC:

The Quebec government is planning a legal challenge to any national securities regulator because it would violate the province's constitutional and jurisdictional rights, Finance Minister Raymond Bachand said Wednesday.

Securities regulation is a provincial power, but the federal government is pushing for a national body in place of the provincial and territorial securities commissions to fix what Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has called a "glaring weakness."

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My Comment: On the day that Quebec decides to attack the Federal Government's regulatory proposals .... Vincent Lacroix is released on bail .... showing once again why the provincial government has failed in protecting our money.

Slowdown In Manufacturing Bumps Quebec's Jobless Rate Up

An assembly line worker at a St. Hyacinthe soup and military rations company that British company Baxters bought out in 2006. Photograph by: Marcos Townsend, Gazette file photo

From The Montreal Gazette:

Quebec's jobless rate will likely top nine per cent next year as the economy struggles with a slowdown in manufacturing, including aerospace, sharply shrinking private-sector payrolls and lower public-sector hiring, BMO Capital Markets said today.

Manufacturing shipments fell by 11 per cent year-to-year in the first four months of this year, the steepest rate of decline since the early 90s, the bank said. The overall economy will contract by 1.6 per cent this year before recovering by 1.9 per cent in 2010.

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At Least 70 Quebec GM Dealers To Close

From CBC News:

GM dealers in Quebec have mixed feelings about the company's decision to close nearly half its retail network in order to restructure and tap into government aid.

"I don't think it was expected, when we got into the business 20 years ago," said Jean-Claude Gravel, a Montrealer who owns four GM dealerships on the island.

GM's decision to shut down 40 per cent of its Canadian dealerships is a sign of the huge shift underway in the auto industry, and lot of dealers have different views of the direction the sector is taking, he said.

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Quebec Minimum Wage Raised To $9

From CBC:

Quebec's minimum wage went up by 50 cents Friday to $9 an hour.

It’s the second time the minimum wage has gone up in two years.

But it’s not enough to keep people out of poverty, especially when compared to other provinces, community advocates said.

"When we raise the minimum wage, we also give the power for workers to buy more, or to put back [some money] in the economy," said Mélanie Gauvin, spokesperson for the Front de défense des non-syndiqué(e)s, a group representing non-unionized workers.

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