In a short statement of 53 words, Bruno Marchand welcomed the mandate granted by the Legault government to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Infra (CDPQi) for the planning of the tramway.
• Also read: Quebec Tramway: CDPQ Infra will be project manager, in collaboration with the City
“I am delighted that the government of Quebec confirms with this gesture the realization of the CITÉ Plan,” said the mayor of Quebec, late Wednesday afternoon, a few minutes after the exit of the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault .
According to him, “this is an essential project for the Quebec region in a context of very strong demographic growth. We cannot wage an effective war on congestion without investing in the development of public transport.
On Tuesday, Mr. Marchand had already warned that this agreement would constitute “good news” so as not to miss the 2025 construction season. But he affirmed that we had to wait for “the final agreement” to obtain more details on the new version of the megaproject.
The “tram corpse”
At the opposite end of the scale from the mayor, Claude Villeneuve, leader of the opposition at City Hall, said he had the impression “that we are around the corpse of the tram, looking to see if there is still a pulse”.
According to him, “the December 15 deadline is not serious. It’s as if the government is already telling us its way out. It’s like the last straw on the part of the government to kill this project, step by step, while appearing to deny any responsibility in this.”
The leader of Quebec first also attacked the mayor in this matter. “He is not part of the discussions at all,” he regretted. It’s going over his head. The City is no longer in the game. It’s pretty much the death of the project office. The City is completely under supervision for what should be the most important project in its history. »
Mandate accepted
For its part, CDPQI reacted by press release in which it accepted this new mandate which was granted to it by the Legault government.
“CDPQ Infra will shortly confirm the composition of a project team which will bring together all the expertise necessary to ensure the advancement of the mandate,” we can read.
Planning the tramway project “will make it possible, among other things, to establish an optimized construction schedule and to begin its design. (It) will also make it possible to issue notices to the market with a view to soliciting the interest of companies with both local and international experience in the construction of major infrastructure and in the construction of tramway transport systems. , we add.
It is specified that “in the coming weeks, actions will also be carried out to enable the implementation of the CITÉ plan, including the conclusion of a final agreement specifying the roles and responsibilities of the MTQ, the City of Quebec and CDPQ Infra , in parallel with the required legislative changes.
They said
“Starting today, we are taking the necessary steps to meet the growing mobility needs of our communities. It is with pride that we embark on the detailed planning of the project. Over the coming months, we will work to make this plan a reality to improve the city’s mobility.
– Jean-Marc Arbaud, President and CEO of CDPQ Infra
“We are happy to see that the tram project is progressing. Although the RTC has not yet been formally designated as the tram operator, we are delighted that the Minister (Guilbault) has assigned us this role.
– Maude Mercier Larouche, president of the Capital Transport Network (RTC)
«On the part of the government, it was a clever political maneuver to gain time, because the pressure came from everywhere. We find ourselves in a political and financial dead end. The government is putting pressure on CDPQI. The mayor rejoices so as not to lose face”
-Patrick Paquet, Quebec priority team leader
“We must immediately put the teams back to work by resuming work interrupted a year ago. We want to see the funding promised for our city translated into new infrastructure as soon as possible.
– Jackie Smith, head of Transition Québec
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