Quebec Government: Chief Executive Officer Louis Vachon

Chief Executive Officer Louis Vachon: The long-term consensus is that Quebec is condemned to grow slower than the rest of the country for the next 10 years, Vachon, 51, said today at the Montreal-based firms annual meeting in Calgary. It should be a priority for any Quebec government to prove the consensus wrong and to show that we can grow, at least at the Canadian average. And I think thats feasible, according to Business Week. Thats taken about half of one percent of economic growth yearly out of Quebec, Vachon said in an interview after the meeting. He predicted the provinces economy will grow 1.8 percent this year, up from his 1 percent estimate in 2013 and National Bank of Canada NA Chief Executive Officer Louis Vachon said Quebec must prove its economy can grow at the same rate as the countrys if it wants to improve a deteriorating business climate. Vachon said Quebecs business environment has worsened in recent years for a variety of reasons. They include corruption scandals, investigations into the construction industry, student protests, efforts to boost mining royalties and a push by the Parti Quebecois government -- defeated in elections this week -- to ban the wearing of religious dress and headgear by state employees, he said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.