Education Minister Michelle Courchesne calls the PQ's accusations irresponsible. (CBC)

Education Minister Michelle Courchesne fought back Wednesday against allegations the government awarded licences for the province’s $7-a-day child-care program in return for donations to the Quebec Liberal Party.

The Parti Québécois, led by family services critic Nicolas Girard, is demanding the auditor general investigate after discovering that two-thirds of the 465 new private daycare licences the Laurentian Region were awarded to Liberal Party donors.

But at a news conference Wednesday, Courchesne denied the accusations and called the PQ irresponsible.

The minister said the government held consultations with the associations representing the province’s private and non-profit daycares to set the criteria that would be used to select the daycares.

She said the criteria used to chose the daycares — 70 per cent non-profit and 30 per cent private — was approved by the two associations.

"For us … there is absolutely no link between the financing of a political party and giving answers to the needs of the population," Courchesne said.

Daycare owners, like anyone, are allowed to make political donations, for their own reasons, Courchesne said.

She also pointed to the case of Samir Alahmad, vice president of the Private Daycares Association. Alahmad said he had made donations to all the provincial parties at one time or another out of personal conviction.

But Alahmad said most of his contracts had been awarded by the PQ.

The Quebec government is in the process of creating 18,000 new daycare spaces.