Energized by an overwhelming vote of confidence from his party on Saturday, Quebec Premier Jean Charest is challenging his rivals to make decisions about the provincial budget.
He indicated on Sunday that he has no intention of dealing with amendments to the budget, to be tabled on Thursday.
"Everything we have to say will have been said before the budget,'' Charest told reporters, following the party's convention this weekend.
Charest easily passed a confidence vote the day before, receiving 97.2 per cent support of the 2,500 delegates.
"It gives me wings,'' he said. "I know I have a united party behind me. It gives me the breathing room to get the work I want done.''
Charest said his first priority will be to get his government's budget passed as quickly as possible.
Last year's budget created a political crisis when Quebec's two opposition parties vowed to vote against it.
"We learned from last year,'' Charest said. "I honestly thought we had consulted enough with the other parties.''
Charest said the budget will take into account the worsening economic situation in the U.S.
Although it will be released this week, the Quebec National Assembly will vote on it on April 8. However Charest said on Sunday that he doesn't want to wait that long to find out whether it will pass and his one-year-old minority government will survive.
"Are we going to negotiate for four weeks?'' he said.
The Liberals have 48 seats in the 125-seat legislature, but opinion polls now suggest the Liberals have a slight lead over the Parti Quebecois.
The ADQ has hinted it will support the budget.
Charest said that he will also forge ahead with economic policies such as free trade agreements with Ontario and France. He hopes to finalize a trade deal with Ontario by 2009 that will allow labour to flow more freely between the two provinces.
"We want to make Quebec a pole of attraction for those who want to take advantage of the new economy,'' he said.
With files from CTV Montreal and The Canadian Press
