Beleaguered pension fund can weather economic downturn: Charest
A financial tempest continued to swirl around the Quebec provincial election Saturday as the Liberals' campaign was buffeted by accusations they are hiding massive projected losses at Quebec's giant pension fund, the Caisse de depot et placement.
Premier Jean Charest, visiting Levis to discuss the financial framework of the Liberal platform, had to stave off questions from journalists on the performance of the pension-fund manager.
The Liberal leader's $1.5 billion worth of promises and a pledge to maintain a balanced budget over the next five years were overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the embattled agency and by attacks from his main opponents.
"[The PQ and the ADQ] are attacking the credibility of the institution and that's unacceptable," he said.
The Liberal leader maintained the fund is strong enough to weather the "economic storm" triggered by the global financial downturn he predicts will soon hit the province.
But Action Démocratique du Québec Leader Mario Dumont, speaking Saturday in front of the fund's Montreal offices, insisted the agency is facing up to $30 billion in losses.
Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois, campaigning in Sherbrooke, accused Charest of calling the snap election to obscure a financial mess at the agency and demanded more transparency and a more frequent publication of the fund's financial results.
Among world's largest
Founded in 1965, the arm's-length Crown agency controls an estimated $155 billion in assets, is one of the largest institutional fund managers in North America and among the world's 10 largest real estate asset managers.
Its clients are mostly Quebec public and private pension and insurance plans.
Agency board member Pierre Brunet announced Friday the fund had $20 billion in liquidity — an amount he reiterated was sufficient to meet all its obligations — but he refused to divulged the fund's results until early 2009.
Meanwhile, Charest said any slump in Quebec's economy would be short-lived.
He expects the economy to bounce back by 2010 and promised no deficits in the next mandate even though government reserves lag behind Liberal commitments by $100 million — commitments that would cost taxpayers $300 million annually.
"There's room to manoeuvre," the Liberal leader said.
"One hundred million dollars is a lot of money, but we're capable of managing it well enough to table a balanced budget."
Financial plan panned
PQ finance critic Francois Legault was quick to slam the Liberal financial plan, saying it underestimates many key expenses like daycare and health-care costs.
But for now, the Liberal machine has so far managed to dodge the mudslinging from its rivals and continues to ride high in the polls.
Surveys suggest the Liberals have an eight to 11 percentage-point lead on the Parti Quebecois, while the ADQ trails with about 12 per cent support.
The leaders' debate will be held Tuesday.
Marois put her campaign on hiatus for the weekend to prepare for her first foray into televised election debates.
"I'm going into the debate with confidence, but also with a lot of humility," she said. "The two other party leaders have much more experience than me."
Both Charest and Dumont have three debates under their belts.
Quebecers go to the polls on Dec. 8.