(Quebec) A single public transport card should be introduced throughout Quebec.
Published at 6:34 p.m. Updated at 6:35 p.m.
Patrice Bergeron The Canadian Press
This is what the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) is proposing in a series of resolutions that will be debated on Saturday and Sunday during a general meeting in Drummondville aimed at rebuilding the formation.
The Canadian Press obtained a copy of the document on Thursday.
It also contains housing crisis proposals to help owners making improvements to their homes, but is silent on the constitutional and nationalist demands called for by the PLQ Recovery Committee in its report published on Thursday.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
The interim head of the PLQ, Marc Tanguay
As for transport, PLQ activists propose in a framework decision to put an end to the multitude of tickets and tickets for the benefit of public transport users.
If the resolution is adopted, a Liberal party in power would therefore establish “a single payment platform for access to public transport throughout the territory and throughout the transport networks”, regardless of the mode of transport used.
Consequently, the resolution also provides for “a travel system that allows the use of a single universal transportation card throughout Quebec.”
However, there can be no question of a uniform tariff, as each regional transport company remains responsible for setting its own tariffs.
In addition, activists are also proposing a subsidy program for the purchase of electric bicycles, like the one that exists in Europe.
The PLQ will also debate the elimination of subsidies for public transport vehicles that emit greenhouse gases, such as the current diesel buses, in favor of subsidies for the purchase of electric buses.
The party also proposes to revive the debate about a TGV between Quebec and Toronto: it would like to advocate, with the support of the federal government, for a study on the TGV compared to the high-frequency train (TGF) currently proposed by Ottawa.
Accommodation
In its multi-part framework decision on housing construction, the PLQ proposes, among other things, a rent indexation policy that is based on the costs of rent improvements.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
This is in contrast to the Housing Administrative Court’s rent increase calculation formula, which currently takes this into account, but in a reduced and modulated form due to depreciation etc.
The policy pursued by the activists would “respond to the realities of the market and the costs of rental improvements carried out by private housing owners”.
However, it should be “implemented gradually to avoid price shocks for tenants while at the same time allowing owners to maintain the inventory of rental properties and thus protect the quality of life and security of their tenants,” it says.
Finally, the PLQ recommends the adoption of a bill against “abusive owners”.
Therefore, this piece of legislation aims to “raise awareness, prevent and combat intimidation, harassment and discrimination by abusive landlords, with the aim of restricting the enjoyment of the premises to a tenant in order to obtain that tenant vacate the premises .” Places, “We can read.
In addition, around twenty resolutions from regional authorities will be discussed at the weekend.
A difficult situation
Remember that this General Council is part of the process of rebuilding the party, decimated by the electoral debacles of 2018 and 2022 and the departure of its leader Dominique Anglade after last year’s defeat.
Another tile: a worrying result in the October 2 supplementary election in Jean-Talon, a town that was once a PLQ stronghold. His candidate came fourth with 8.9% of the vote.
The group also expelled MP Fred Beauchemin last week because the president of the party’s youth wing, Élyse Moisan, made complaints about bullying. However, Mr Beauchemin was the only one who had expressed his firm intention of running in the party leadership race.
A report from a restructuring committee published on Thursday is also likely to be the subject of debate next weekend.
The document, entitled “Affirm, Unite, Thrive”, reformulates the Liberal Party’s “federalist-nationalist” position and proposes a number of paths that can be taken within these three key themes. In particular, he recommends the adoption of a Quebec constitution, a reform of the electoral system and the Senate becoming a provincial chamber.
The rules of the leadership race should also be announced during this general meeting.
In last year’s general election, the PLQ fell below the 600,000 vote mark with 591,077 votes, slightly more than Éric Duhaime’s Conservative Party (530,786) but less than Québec Solidaire (634,535) and the Parti Québécois (600,708). The party was crushed in all regions of Quebec except Montreal, Laval, Montérégie and Outaouais.
The party has been in steady decline since 2018 but remains the official opposition.