TROIS-RIVIÈRES — “There will be difficult days ahead” as Quebec plans to rein in its debt, Premier Philippe Couillard warned at the Liberal Party general council on Saturday. But he said the government will “stay the course” on budget cuts despite anti-austerity protests like the one that erupted outside the Liberals’ meeting.



“Whatever our ideas, preferences or political affiliations, the challenge ahead of us is one of the most important in our history,” Couillard said in his speech after greeting the 600 members of the party’s general council for the first time since the April election.



If nothing is done to curb the deficit, it will spiral to $5.8 billion by the end of the year and climb to $7 billion at the end of the 2015-2016 fiscal year, he reminded his audience.



After beating back Quebec’s debt, the province will be free to reinvest in health-care, education and assistance to families, the premier said.



“Our destination is freedom,” Couillard said. “We have to free the next generation from the chains of debt and give ourselves the capacity to invest.”



Taking Bill 10 on health-care reform as an example, Couillard said Quebec’s goal is to “reduce the bureaucracy while preserving services to the population.” The bill seeks $220 million a year in savings by stripping away a layer of health-care administration — the Agences de la santé et des services sociaux — and merging the governing boards of health centres.



In the halls of the Trois-Rivières Delta Hotel convention centre, Liberal cabinet ministers echoed the premier’s message. Given the state of Quebec’s economy, Finance Minister Carlos Leitão didn’t rule out a salary freeze next for public-sector employees, who are asking for a raise in their next collective agreement. In their opening bid in the negotiations, the unions representing 400,000 public-sector staff called for a 13.5 per cent pay hike over three years. “Clearly, there’s not a great deal of room to provide those increases next year,” Leitão said. In his budget, he anticipated a 0.7 per cent increase in public spending in 2015-2016. “We know that 60 per cent of spending on programs is for remuneration. So do the math,” he said.



As members of the Liberal Party discussed policy and current events, protesters unhappy with the government’s plans for municipal pension reform gathered like a storm cloud outside. Bill 3, which calls on workers and municipalities to split their pension contributions 50-50, is winding its way through government committees. “The determination of the government is there and we will continue going over the bill article by article,” Municipal Affairs Minister Pierre Moreau said on Saturday.



The 500 protesters were fenced off and surrounded by police wearing red caps and army camouflage pants to show their own indignation with Bill 3.



Marc Ranger, spokesperson of the Coalition syndicale pour une coalition libre, accused the Liberal Party of being responsible for “the waste” in public finances. “We have no lessons to take from people who have no morals. None,” he said.



“These guys in the Liberal cabinet, if they had talked about what they are doing right now while they were campaigning — clawing back social programs and attacking our working conditions — they never would have been elected,” he added.



Claude Hamel, a retired firefighter from Longueuil, described the government’s attempt to re-negotiate pension plans as “a betrayal.”



“I had a retirement that was promised for the rest of my days. I can’t go back to my old job and they want to punish me.”



Highlights from resolutions of the Liberal general council endorsed by the party:



An innovation policy that would address functional and digital illiteracy as well as put in place high-school programs encouraging entrepreneurship.



Encourage international students to work in Quebec by partly refunding their tuition if they decide to stay five years after graduation.



Issue skilled workers whose professional licences aren’t recognized a “permit of restrained practice” so they can integrate more quickly into the workforce.



Modernize government services by creating an online system to manage wait times and appointments in health-care.



Provide for online voting in school board, municipal and eventually provincial elections.



gvendeville@montrealgazette.com

Twitter: geoffvendeville