Elected CAQ officials are demanding internally that their government force Bruno Marchand to hold a tram plebiscite, similar to a referendum, before agreeing to fund the project, which is being revised upward.
The Legault government has not yet made a decision and what happens next will depend on the revised bill for the heart of the Capital Express Network.
However, our government sources admit that deliberations have begun and that MPs have expressed their views.
“We don’t want to be the gravediggers of the project. But in the end there will be a moment of truth when the bill comes out, not only to the government of Quebec, but also to the federal government and the taxpayers of Quebec,” we conclude.
This consideration would explain the tone adopted by Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault last week.
acceptability
When pressed by the mayor of Quebec, who called for clear support for the tram line, she replied that it was up to Bruno Marchand to work on “acceptance.”
The revised cost remains a mystery after the bids were submitted, but it is certain that the sum will be more than $4 billion, while the project was announced at $3.3 billion.
It would be “desirable and normal” for citizens to make their voices heard, a government source familiar with the complaints of certain elected officials tells us, worrying that support is “dwindling over time.”
It is argued that public transport projects in the Greater Montreal area had the consent of citizens.
“No more than half of the population was against the REM, on the contrary.”
weakness
The question obviously causes unease among CAQ troops.
The Legault government is probably afraid of implementing a project that is not very popular and much more expensive than expected after rejecting the promised road tunnel.
But it would be disastrous if both the tram and the third link ended up being abandoned, turning several years spent on both projects into dust.