The Legault government called on Quebec City to keep the tram project office open despite uncertainty over how the transportation network would be structured. Part of the preparatory work was able to continue during the Caisse de dépôt’s analysis assignment.
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Citizens who live in the middle of a tram construction site and have been disturbed since the construction pause could soon breathe a sigh of relief.
The same goes for the hundred employees of the project office who worked for five years to create the Quebec tram.
Our Parliamentary Office has learned that the Minister for Transport wishes to continue work related to the establishment of a structuring network. The Quebec government would fund the office’s activities.
“We have officially asked the city to maintain the project office,” confirmed the communications director of Minister Geneviève Guilbault, Maxime Roy, specifying that he had no further “details to provide.”
In the office of the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, we were pleased “that the minister recognized the competence of the city of Quebec in the field of mobility. “Their know-how will be necessary for the implementation of any structuring project,” said press secretary Thomas Gaudreau. However, we note that it remains a “challenge to keep these competent people motivated.”
Separate contracts
However, according to our information, Quebec would like to receive a list of contracts and signed and future tenders.
The government would try to separate the work related to structuring the transport project and the areas that are the sole responsibility of the city, such as the aqueduct for the municipal network.
However, all work had begun after the Quebec government issued a decree for the tram. No less than $900 million was approved. More than 80 meetings were held between the project office and the government on this topic through the Société québécoise des Infrastructures.
“Quebec is already aware of all this,” confirms a source who wishes to preserve his anonymity. The mayor’s press secretary points out that this is all fixed: “All the work was carried out within the framework of a clear agreement established by decrees. The government is expected to respect this agreement. »
In addition, there is still uncertainty about the duration of the project office’s mandate. It could be secured for the next six to nine months, slightly longer than the duration of the Caisse de dépôt etplacement du Québec infra’s given mandate.
uncertainty
Since Prime Minister François Legault took the tram project out of the hands of the city of Quebec, there has been uncertainty among project office staff.
Sources trusted our parliamentary office and feared that the city and Quebec would lose the expertise they have built in terms of structuring transportation. Several engineers and specialists are reportedly thinking about their future at the office since the project was transferred to CDPQ Infra.
Even if a small part of the mandate could continue, it would be difficult to motivate the troops, we were told.
Sources also mention that the Quebec government could then try to recruit them to take part in the future transportation agency desired by Minister Guilbault.
In an interview with La Presse on Tuesday, Ms. Guilbault reiterated that her ministry lacks expertise in public transport and that is why it has included the CDPQ infrastructure in the Quebec transportation structuring file.
What they said
“It is a good thing to maintain the project office, even if we can see a certain irony in it. The people who work there are talented and have extensive specialist knowledge. The very fact that they are considering integrating them into the future transport agency confirms this fact. »
-Claude Villeneuve, leader of Quebec First.
“It is a pragmatic decision [de garder en vie le bureau de projet]. We follow the normal order of things. We had to respect employees’ employment contracts and the rental of premises. »
-Patrick Paquet, Priorité Québec team leader.
“It is good news that we are trying to keep competent people in place while we face this farce of another study that, like the others, concludes that we need a tram in Quebec.” »
-Jackie Smith, head of Transition Quebec.
— In collaboration with Stéphanie Martin and Taïeb Moalla
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