Former Quebec Mayor Régis Labeaume believes Prime Minister François Legault knew long before the last election campaign that he no longer had to deliver on his promise of a third highway link.
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The ex-mayor, who has had to negotiate for a long time with the Legault government on this issue and has never hidden his rejection of the 3rd link very well, sees the recent post-pandemic studies as the perfect excuse to draw a line under the project, if the government is at the beginning of a four-year majority mandate.
“What happened between the November election and now? Nothing! […] It’s not true that the light suddenly dawned on them because a result arrived on their desk last week. This case is ridiculous,” he says with his usual enthusiasm.
Régis Labeaume, who was interviewed on Thursday night’s program “Le Bilan”, did not fall off his chair when the CAQ announced its about-face.
“I don’t want to do the ‘Smatte,’ but a year ago I wrote that it would never happen. I had the pleasure of knowing that the cost had reached $10 billion and I said so in 2018. I feel very, very smart today!” he says with a laugh.
The one who calls the 3rd link “a crazy project” says he was “on the verge of lying” when he sometimes promoted it as part of his assignments. He swears he warned Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault that the project was not feasible.
“I had to save the country! But look, I never believed it.
Not only was the cost exorbitant, but he said the traffic just wasn’t there. He estimates that 75% of South Shore citizens who go to work in Quebec are Westerners. However, the location of the bridge tunnel is to the east.
“This is completely ridiculous! It is contraindicated. It has no logical basis, but listen… it was used to win an election in 2018. I don’t think the CAQ asked itself at the time whether it was feasible or not.”
The former mayor also doesn’t take four ways to comment on the government’s new vision, which revolves around a tunnel dedicated solely to public transport: “It will never happen! Forget that!”
“It’s just a pill to cushion the fall. But since we love to roam around Quebec, we’ll be talking about it for years. It’s going to take all the political time, it’s going to be extraordinary. But it will end up like the Autobahn project. It will never happen.”
What about the tram? Is the feasibility doubtful after failure of the 3rd link?
“One billion will be invested in the preparatory work by the end of the year. That’s a lot of money, explains Mr Labeaume. The CAQ faction fought until the last minute. You are cursed in this beautiful world, he starts. I advise them to subscribe to Netflix because I will share a deal with you, they will not be able to show for the next few months. If they can stop the tram, they will do it for revenge.”
On the other hand, in the eyes of the ex-politician, it is a safe investment in public transport.
“For 5 billion to have an 8-kilometer tube under the river, you can afford an efficient public transport system that starts from Lévis, which is 23 kilometers long, and that will connect the tram to Sainte-Foy. »
Watch the interview with Régis Labeaume on the program “Le Bilan” in the video above