The hypothesis that the community Become the project manager of the component “Infrastructure” the tram made his way to Quebec.
Jonatan Julien, the minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region, does not seem to doubt the city of Quebec’s ability to take on this aspect of the project.
“I know very well that Quebec City has great capabilities. I was responsible for technology… There are excellent engineers, the same goes for the treasury,” he commented on the man who was number 2 in the city a few years ago.
According to him, “Mr Marchand and I have the same goal: it’s about finding the most effective way [gérer] When it comes to a public transport project like the tram, I think all the stones need to be cleared away.
Her transport colleague Geneviève Guilbault said she preferred to wait for the final financial proposal before making further comments. “Mr. Marchand appears to have ideas up his sleeve to beneficially influence the cost of the project. I will let him do his update,” she said.
Local unions are open to the idea
As for the city’s workers, the union’s president, Luc Boissonneault, mentioned this to the Journal: “We haven’t spoken to the administration about it, but I’m not surprised that the mayor mentioned it.” We have specialized ones Teams that carry out tasks that were previously entrusted to private companies.”
The preparatory work, which is carried out entirely on your own, also includes laying underground cables. This preparatory work was initially intended to be carried out in collaboration with the selected consortium. According to Mr. Marchand, the completion was on time and within budget.
“If we want to do the work in-house, we need to expand the teams to have the necessary workforce,” Mr. Boissonneault warned. We are open to challenges. They may recognize that our internal expertise is excellent and our employees are highly qualified. Workers, we are the best and we are here to serve the citizens at a lower cost.”
Among employees, union leader Réal Pleau also stated that he was open to the idea of resuming tram operations internally, even if he agreed that this hypothesis presented by the city administration had not been considered for him.
Seriously think about it
For the businessman Yvon Charest, chairman of the board of the group that advocates for the “I have my pass” tram, the city may come to the conclusion that the risk management entrusted to a consortium will cost too much and that it is better to assume this Taking risks yourself to save money. This method was particularly used for the Videotron Center, he recalled.
According to him: “If they have the right people at the table, I think they can seriously think about it.”
Mr. Charest believes that project office manager Daniel Genest, who carried out the major new Champlain Bridge project, is “the right resource.”
Risk and expertise
For her part, Marie-Soleil Tremblay, professor at the National School of Public Administration (ÉNAP) and specialist in the governance of public companies, recalled the two main advantages of doing business with a consortium: risk sharing and finding the necessary expertise.
“Before we decide that the costs associated with consortia are too high, we need to ensure we are able to seek expertise. It’s like realizing a contractor’s price is too high. But if we hire ourselves, can I make the right decisions with the expertise we have internally?
Ms. Tremblay avoided saying whether resuming work is a good or bad idea internally, but added that “it is always prudent to consider all options available to us before making any decisions.”
According to her, “one of the hypotheses” that could explain the mayor’s exit is to improve the conditions of the ongoing negotiations with the selected consortia to implement the “infrastructure” component of the tram.
– In collaboration with Marc-André Gagnon and Stéphanie Martin