The more delays pile up, the greater the risk that the tram project will be dead and buried, Quebec Mayor Bruno Marchand agreed.
“If we delay, there is inevitably a risk of derailing the project. The more we delay, the more we will inevitably have to watch the project suffer a beautiful death. This is not what we want,” Mr. Marchand said at a news conference on Thursday.
The latter was asked about the fact that the six-month period had not yet started to run. During this period, the Caisse de dépôt etplacement du Québec (CPDQ) will present to Infra the outcome of its deliberations on the best choice for structuring the transport network for Quebec.
It remains up to the City of Quebec and the Ministry of Transport to enter into a confidentiality agreement for the technical bid document, which was purchased for $14 million from the consortium that is still in the running. Mr Marchand suggested that the signing of this agreement was a simple formality and that the period for these six months could begin.
The importance of the deadline
Beyond this formality, the mayor emphasized that the issue of deadlines is essential for several reasons. “The question of deadlines is not a political question of who is right and who is wrong. The more we delay, the more it affects the decisions we have to make and the more it forces us to make different decisions. In certain works, in expropriations, it influences the decisions we have to make.”
The other direct impact concerns the tram project office, which has found itself in a special situation since the government rejected the Mayor’s Plan B.
“If we delay for too long, a lot of things will disappear, including our project office […] When six months become nine months, 12 months, 15 months […]“We can’t ask people to wait indefinitely,” he added, suggesting that experts in that office might be tempted to look elsewhere.
The same uncertainty exists with various contracts that have already been signed but not yet executed, he added.
No work in 2024
One thing is certain: Bruno Marchand said he is convinced that the summer and fall 2024 construction season is definitely lost. Even if CDPQ Infra presented a structuring transport project within the set deadline and this proposal was quickly supported by the Legault government, a long tender process would in any case have to follow before the possible start of the work, he acknowledged.
On the other hand, the official opposition in the town hall on Thursday expressed concern about the possible absence of the heads of the tram project office during the plenary session of the budget committees, which are scheduled to begin next week.
Claude Villeneuve, leader of Quebec First, said he noticed that absence when he received the tentative schedule for plenary sessions. Please note, however, that this agenda has not yet been published. Yesterday, the mayor’s office declined to comment on the issue.
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