Further savings were not reinvested in health as the government promised, but used for deficit reduction. Lack of an innovative spirit is also evident in education. Instead of decentralizing and giving parents greater choice in how their children are educated, the government has expanded into kindergarten and is forcing private daycare centres out of business. In addition, the government has not raised university tuition fees, nor has it done anything to sensitize university students to the true costs of an education. As a result, university education continues to be supported by a subsidy from the poor to the rich.
Labour policy persists in creating unemployment.
A survey of such programs gives evidence that they are of dubious value at best. Quebec, however, does not seem any more misguided than other provinces in this domain. The government seems to be a victim of the well-established provincial tradition of propping up unprofitable industries, which in turn stifles competition. The government's failure to consider a major reform of Hydro Quebec is troubling, but some minor privatizations are a sign of hope. The government's failure to significantly ease regulatory burdens gives the province a reputation of hostility to competition it can ill afford, especially should it choose to separate and expose itself to the buffets of international markets without the protection of Ottawa's transfer payments.