To cover a projected $2.5 billion deficit over five years for Quebec’s public transit agency, the Legault government is proposing to foot just 20% of the bill, Radio-Canada has learned. A proposal that has been very poorly received in some communities that are struggling to make ends meet.
Last week, the Minister of Transport warned: The state government will not always be there to balance the finances of transport companies that have been severely affected by the decline in passengers caused by the pandemic.
However, Geneviève Guilbault’s proposal at a private meeting on Monday is even worse than expected by several transport companies and municipalities. Behind the scenes, people whisper that the meeting went badly.
Some even speak of a slap in the face to describe the impact of the proposal presented by Ms. Guilbault, details of which were obtained by Radio-Canada.
For the Greater Montreal area, the provincial government would provide $482.8 million between 2024 and 2028 to cover the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority’s (ARTM) expected deficit, estimated at $2.23 billion.
To the six other major public transport companies (Quebec, Laval, Lévis, Gatineau, Saguenay and Sherbrooke), the Legault government would offer only $22 million to cover losses estimated at $268 million.
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The ARTM brings together the Société de Transport de Montréal, the Réseau de Transport de Longueuil, the Société de Transport de Laval and the Exo-Organization.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers
In other words, Quebec would contribute $504.8 million over five years, almost 20% of the amount needed to balance carriers’ budgets. The latter, supported by the municipalities, should therefore cover the remaining 80% or almost 2 billion US dollars.
Cuts are to be expected
To achieve this, Minister Guilbault is proposing a $365 million optimization to transport companies. Such an effort will result in benefit cuts, said stakeholders, who declined to comment publicly on the matter.
However, if the Legault government’s proposal comes to fruition, it will ultimately be the municipalities that receive the bulk of the bill.
The affected cities would have to pay more than a billion dollars for the ARTM alone. For the six other transport companies outside Montreal, municipalities were expected to contribute almost $165 million.
This does not include the $415 million that must be recovered through “standardized land assets,” a mechanism used particularly to distribute spending in major cities.
Given that municipalities are already starving and are in the middle of negotiations to renew their fiscal pact with the Legault government, this call to tighten their belts is poorly received.
For the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ), a financial decoupling from the Quebec government in public transport represents a disproportionate burden on municipalities, and this is something UMQ president Martin responded to in writing to Damphousse just weeks before presenting their budget .
The financial responsibility of municipalities continues to increase. It is important that the government takes this reality into account.
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The president of the Union of Municipalities of Quebec, Martin Damphousse
Photo: The Canadian Press / Jacques Boissinot
During her private meeting with transport companies on Tuesday, Geneviève Guilbault promised that further discussions with the affected partners will take place soon.
The minister also announced the creation of an optimization committee between the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMD) and the ARTM, whose task will be to find solutions to provide transport companies with annual savings of 150 million dollars.
We believe in it, assures the government
When asked for comment, Minister Guilbault’s office recalls that the Quebec government is already doing a lot to support transport companies, in particular through subsidies for the purchase of electric buses and infrastructure projects.
To help them deal with the pandemic, Quebec also granted them a $2.1 billion emergency framework; A novelty, according to the government, because in the past the Quebec government has never intervened to compensate for the deficits of public transport, according to the document presented on Monday by Geneviève Guilbault.
“We are investing heavily in public transport because we believe in it and, like public transport companies and municipalities, we want to offer Quebecers an attractive offer,” emphasizes the minister’s communications director, Maxime Roy.
The latter also reiterates that the proposal presented on Tuesday is not final and could evolve as discussions progress. The scenario presented is a basis for opening the discussion. We will not negotiate publicly, he warns.
The collaboration is excellent and everyone has the same goal: finding solutions to solve financial problems. Everyone has a role to play; It is a shared responsibility.
However, the feared cuts at several transport companies, if they actually materialize, would contradict the goals of the government’s Sustainable Mobility Policy 2030, which instead envisages an annual increase in the range of services.
The Capital Transport Network (RTC) declined to comment. For its part, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) says it has already undertaken many optimization efforts since the pandemic and is committed to continuing on this path.
We need to find dedicated, indexed and recurring sources of financing and the STM will be a constructive actor in finding solutions, writes STM business consultant Amélie Régis in writing.