Given the project’s escalating costs and unpopularity, François Legault took the Quebec tram project out of the city’s hands and instead transferred it to the Caisse de dépôt etplacement du Québec (CDPQ). This is the decision of the Prime Minister after his meeting on Wednesday evening with the mayor of the capital, Bruno Marchand, as reported by several media outlets.
Mr. Marchand wanted the city of Quebec to be the project manager of the recently valued $8.4 billion project and hoped to get approval from the Quebec government. This “Plan B” was imposed last week after the withdrawal of the consortia that were supposed to build the project’s infrastructure.
“I had a very good conversation with the Prime Minister, where we both spoke personally – just him and me – and in which I presented the city with the plan to implement the tram structuring transport project. This is not the option he will choose. “Obviously I’m disappointed,” the mayor said with a downcast face in a press scrum after his meeting with Mr. Legault.
Bruno Marchand then spoke with the Minister of Transport Geneviève Guilbault and the Minister responsible for Infrastructure and the State Capital, Jonatan Julien. “We will give the Caisse de dépôt the mandate to start from Quebec’s mobility needs and develop the best structuring project for the city of Quebec. The depot […] has already demonstrated its expertise in public transport […] provided the first branch of the SEM,” Ms. Guilbault explained afterwards.
The CDPQ has six months to propose its new version of the project. “We all know that we need an effective, structured transport network that convinces people to use it,” she added. “So we start from that need. And in a maximum of six months, the fund will make the assessment and come to us with the best project at the best cost,” the minister assured.
Other types of transport taken into account
The Legault government also received “assurance” from the head of the Caisse de dépôt, Charles Emond, that the mandate could be carried out within this timetable, explained Jonatan Julien. The latter indicated that the tram project presented by Bruno Marchand would be one of the scenarios studied, but did not want to say whether the option of an automated light rail train like the REM could be retained.
“It can come from the SRB [service rapide par bus] to a REM, a subway or a tram,” he said earlier on Wednesday. “There are different models of heavy goods vehicles. I’m not a specialist in heavy transport, but we definitely don’t have that in Quebec. »
While work is already underway to build a tram in the capital, Mr. Julien said his government would agree with the city of Quebec “on what we stop and what we continue.” $527 million has already been committed to contracts with partners and suppliers. Of this amount, the city spent $371.5 million on purchases and preparatory work.
A predictable turn of events
François Legault had already described the latest $8.4 billion estimate for the project as “expensive, very expensive.” In the hallways of the National Assembly, CAQ ministers even preferred to talk about “a heavy means of transport” rather than specifically talking about a tram. According to Radio-Canada on Tuesday, no one within the Quebec caucus came forward to defend the project.
Only the federal government still supported the project. “Quebec City has the choice to catch up or let other cities benefit from available and future investments from the Government of Canada,” said Federal Transport Minister and Quebec MP Jean-Yves Duclos.
In addition, the city of Quebec announced at the end of October that 60% of the capital’s citizens were against the project, even before the tram was valued at $8.4 billion. Of the 1,005 respondents surveyed by the Léger company, 44% said they had a very bad opinion of the project.
Despite his disappointment at the end of Friday’s meeting, Mayor Marchand said he had assured Mr. Legault of his full cooperation.