Assuring that it was “not for sale”, Bruno Marchand refused to “bargain” his support for the Third Link against obtaining the necessary government orders for the tramway.
Also read: According to QS and PLQ, the CAQ slows down the tramway
The Quebec mayor opened it during an abrupt press conference before City Council on Monday afternoon. “I will never trade my support for anything. I will evaluate each project for myself and for it. I will evaluate each project for its value. I am not for sale and I will never be for sale,” Mr Marchand quit.
The city of Quebec is still waiting for two decrees to be approved by the Council of Ministers to continue the process of supplying the tramway. A few days ago, Mayor Marchand said he was assured of these orders on March 16 or 23. However he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat Lukashenko’s government. Marchand had to agree on Monday.
No need to wait for Ottawa, Marchand said
Last week, the minister in charge of Capitale-National, Genevieve Gilbolt, returned the ball to Ottawa, worrying about the federal government’s slow commitment. Financing cost overrun.
However, Mayor Marchand is making a clearly different analysis. According to him, at this stage of the process there is no need to wait for official signatures from the federal level to receive the decrees quickly and avoid other costly delays in the construction of the tramway.
“I am ready to work with the Government of Quebec and the Government of Canada so that the agreement (on cost overruns) is specific to everyone, with a proportion of costs to each, but we have nothing. No legislation required,” he pointed out.
Late on Monday afternoon, in an abrupt press conference, Claude Villenev, the first head of Quebec, confirmed that “at present, the government (Coquist) is harming the project”. Saying to support Mr Marchand in his talks, he said, “If the mayor is looking for one Bad cop, I have no problem playing that role. I found that the Quebec government should remove the nose fingers.
For her part, Jackie Smith, the head of Transition Quebec, also called on the Quebec government to “stop blocking the way.” The mayor also sent Spade to Marchand, claiming that he had “questioned” the tramway project during the municipal election campaign last fall. “And it didn’t help,” she lamented.
Precautions
In addition, Mayor Marchand said he was “neutral and indifferent” in launching work on the third link, which the CAQ government confirmed Monday morning. “They are [les élus de la CAQ] The shovel of the land promised, they have the right to want to deliver it. Now, I think it’s very important how this work fits into the project. Everyone wants to be the answer, ”he said.
“He recalled that he wanted to know more about the project to get its relevance and answers to the questions we asked. To see how good this project is for Quebec.
Bruno Marchand stressed that many questions remain unanswered, especially as the share of public transport in urban expansion, car traffic, financing and mega tunnels is currently estimated at between $ 6 and $ 10 billion.
Stress
The day before, the city of Quebec had issued a press release in which Legalt put pressure on the government. For the second time in several weeks, Bruno Marchand demonstrated signs of impatience by publicly challenging the government.
According to the Quebec mayor, time is running out, calling for two decrees to launch as soon as possible Calling proposals for rolling stock – Initially – as well as for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure.
City hope to launch the RFP for rolling stock on Tuesday. However, the Cabinet has not yet approved the decree required to proceed. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, so this second cry from the mayor’s heart.
“There is no reason to delay the start of tenders further. We have a historic responsibility to provide cities with easy access for future generations, to breathe quality air and to limit the effects of climate change, ”Bruno Marchand said in a press release issued during dinner on Monday night.
“The Quebec government is working to achieve its GHG reduction targets. To achieve this, it relies on the electrification of transportation. The Quebec Tramway is one of the largest transportation electrification projects in the country. ”
The tramway project is now worth nearly $ 4 billion. The most recent Leger poll conducted in Quebec City in January revealed that the popularity of the project had dropped to 41%.
– Collaborated with Stephanie Martin and Jean-Luc Lovely
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