$12.5M contract at AtkinsRealis for the tramway

The City of Quebec awarded a $12.5 million contract for professional services for the tramway, a situation that worries the official opposition, in anticipation of the December 15 deadline; the mayor insists that there is no financial issue for the City.

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The mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, emphasizes that the Ministry of Transport has authorized the signing of such a contract. “[Le Ministère] assured us that he would pay the amounts owed and that, in the event of a catastrophic event which will not happen because we will move forward [avec le tramway]the City is covered. There is no issue, there is no worry. They can sleep peacefully.”

The mayor repeated that in his opinion, “the project will see the light of day.”

The decision of the executive committee should be approved during Tuesday’s council meeting, by the mayor’s team, in the majority. The contract provides for a sum of $12.5M for professional services as part of the tramway project and was awarded to the engineering consulting firm AtkinsRéalis.

Infrastructure works

The contract aims to provide consulting engineering services for municipal infrastructure work, particularly in Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge and La Cité-Limoilou. This involves the preparation of documents and requests necessary for carrying out the work, the preparation of hydraulic studies, the integration of urban technical networks, the preparation of plans and quotes, the detailed estimate of the cost of works and supervision of works. It applies until December 31, 2026.

Opposition fears

The official opposition from Quebec first is not sure of voting in favor of the summary on Tuesday. “We have few details, which makes us fear, with the deadline of December 15, what will happen if there is no agreement. What are the conditions for terminating the contract?” asked the chef, Claude Villeneuve.

Councilor Véronique Dallaire, for her part, wondered if the mayor himself knew the termination clauses. Mr. Marchand assured that yes. The two elected officials from Quebec first affirmed that they will question the Marchand administration in council and, in the absence of satisfactory answers, their party will vote against this decision.

On the side of Équipe Priorité Québec, chef Patrick Paquet deplored not having access to the contract. “Are we going to vote for a sum of $12 million without having the decision of December 15?” He has doubts about the mayor’s assertion about the absence of financial consequences. “I can’t take his word for it, I don’t have the contract.”

Remember that the Legault government has set December 15 as the deadline to reach a final agreement with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Infra on the governance and financing of the tramway. Otherwise it will be deemed not to move forward with the project, rules the draft provisional agreement.

Citation

“I’m not worried at all. We will have the amounts. We don’t do this by ourselves, alone. We are working with the Ministry of Transport which has authorized us to do so.”

— Bruno Marchand, mayor of Quebec