The procurement process connected with the tramway has been suspended

Four months after the Quebec tramway was halted, the procurement process connected to the megaproject has been officially suspended “until at least June 2024” by the City of Quebec and the Legault government.

News magazine A letter signed by Daniel Genest, head of the tram project office, was held. This missive will be sent to 213 employers affected by the procurement process. Their places can be found almost everywhere along the tramway's 19.3 km route, but they are concentrated in the René-Lévesque Boulevard sector – 60%.

“In light of the current pause, we are informing you that it has been decided by mutual agreement between the City and the Government to suspend the current procedures until at least June 2024. This suspension is temporary and does not stop the acquisition process,” Mr. Genest wrote.

“Aware that the decision to suspend the ongoing acquisition processes raises certain concerns,” the project director said, “an “individual analysis process” has been put in place to mitigate the effects of the current pause on employers. Related.

Note that these are not acquisitions and usurpations by way of contract of strips or easements of land.

Complex files

How can we explain that the suspension is formal, four months after the government forcibly paused the project?

“It is a complex process. We have looked at the file from November 2023 from all angles [moment de la mise sur pause du tramway]. It still took us a long time to come up with a game plan for acquisitions. A lot of discussion and exchange with the Ministry of Transport is required to get the best possible solution,” admits Emily Begin, Communications Team Leader at the Tramway Project Office.

During this time, the city was able to finalize some very sophisticated purchases. This is particularly true of the Saint-Foy trade hub, the Roland-Beudin axis (except for the de Rochebelle campus) and Laurier Boulevard, Ms. Happened near the begin list.

It stopped suddenly

On September 15, 2023, just seven weeks before the tram was to be paused, the Marchand administration announced that it was accelerating the pace of acquisitions, expected to be completed by the summer of 2024.

“The tram is moving forward. The time has come to finalize the acquisitions for the construction of this much-needed project for our city,” enthused Bruno Marchand at the time.

A few weeks later, the Quebec government withdrew the project from the city and handed the mandate to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) Infra to think about the best structural transport network for Quebec. Conclusions of CDPQ Infra are expected in June.

The acquisition process is linked to the tramway

– 408 acquisitions required for tramway.

– 47 files are completed and 361 are in process while the project is kept pending.

– 213 Employers receive a letter from Daniel Genest to inform them of the situation.

– Quebec City received authorization from the Legault government to continue the investigation into 131 files.

– From November 8, 2023, the city closes two additional acquisitions in Saint-Foy (IA parking at 1200, rue de l'Gliss and 920, avenue Roland-Beudin).

– As of November 8, 2023, the city is authorized to pursue foreclosure proceedings on 93 files.

^{Source: Tram Project Office}