Environment cuts: Deputy Minister must be dismissed, says Éric Duhaime

Conservative leader Éric Duhaime has been tough on the Deputy Minister of the Environment, who is concerned about job cuts in his department. He is asking Environment Minister Bernard Drainville to “sanction” or “dismiss” him.

“I apologize, but as a senior official, he has an obligation. He has a duty of discretion, which he clearly did not respect. This is unacceptable! (…) If he wants to get involved in politics, he can resign today and run for election,” said Duhaime at a press conference on Wednesday at the National Assembly.

Radio-Canada obtained a recording of an internal meeting on Oct. 8 in which Deputy Minister Frédéric Guay said that the layoff of about 100 environment officials was “terrible.”

“I’ve had several sleepless nights and I still do when I think about it,” Guay said, according to the recording obtained by the public broadcaster.

“There’s nothing terrible about it,” said Duhaime. “Not only should he not be saying what he’s saying, but what he’s saying is wrong. His own department has increased its workforce by 20 per cent, and we’re asking him to make a cut of less than 3 per cent today.”

Duhaime, who is a staunch advocate of reducing bureaucracy, believes that the François Legault government is not credible in its desire to slim down the state.

The Journal de Québec reported on Wednesday that the civil service has grown by 2 per cent over the past year.

It also reported that since the CAQ came to power, the number of civil servants has increased by 17 per cent, even though Legault had promised to streamline the government.

“Legault came to power in 2018 saying he was going to cut 5,000 civil service jobs. Not only did he not cut 5,000, he hired 12,000,” said Duhaime.

Last month, during his cabinet reshuffle, the premier promised “shock treatment” to “cut deeply into the bureaucracy.”

This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews