Official confirmation of the Canadian government’s purchase of the Quebec Bridge is imminent, new federal transport minister Pablo Rodriguez suggested.
“We will invest massively in the Quebec Bridge. There are announcements that will follow soon,” he said on Friday afternoon in Quebec after a meeting with his counterpart Geneviève Guilbault.
The latter recalled that Ottawa’s intention to buy the bridge was still relevant, adding: “We are in the process of reaching the final conclusions.” I met the CEO of CN [Canadien National, propriétaire du pont] last week. We had a long meeting where we discussed much of the bridge. I can say we will have good news soon.”
According to him, “We are fine-tuning the final details. That’s because we buy the bridge. We are investing significantly in painting and something else because Quebec deserves a beautiful bridge.”
Mr. Rodriguez avoided setting a precise deadline for the closure of this dossier, the resolution of which has been promised for many years.
Tram financing
On the other hand, the minister once again promised that the federal level would be involved in financing Quebec’s future tramway.
“There are amounts that we have agreed on. There are amounts that we have discussed. In the last amounts with the cost increases in March we said we would be at 40%. “Nothing has changed since then,” he assured.
What about other expected cost overruns beyond the $3.9 billion budget? “We’ll see. Quebec is a metropolis that deserves a structured public transport system. “That is one of our priorities,” he replied.
Minister Rodriguez claimed that federal funding for the streetcar was “available” and “budgeted.” However, he agreed that “there is always a cost limit in life, but we have to look at where we are and take into account the government’s main intention, which is to support Quebec in its desire for a structured public transport system.”
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