Everyone has their opinion on 3e link. Everyone has their opinion on the tram project.
But what is our opinion worth as citizens? What do we know about infrastructure, its feasibility, its necessity and its construction?
For most of us, we can answer “Not much.”
The facts are stubborn
But the current government, like previous ones, has so politicized infrastructure, both road and public transport, that everyone’s position becomes one of political convictions.
The proof: both the studies unveiled in 2023 and the CDPQ Infra report conclude that nothing justifies the construction of a third link. Nothing, niet, nada.
The question of economic security is not even raised as an issue, but rather cited in passing as part of the argument of supporters of the third link.
Do you believe that expert opinion, studies and analyzes have convinced supporters of a third link that it is not a good idea? No way.
Tram
Same thing with the tram. The CDPQ Infra report is clear: Quebec must have a structuring public transport network such as a tramway. The numbers are clear, as are the benefits. Despite this, the resistance and rejection of the project by a majority of the population in Quebec are staggering. Their argument seems to be more dogmatic and ideological than rational and scientific.
Populist or pragmatic?
The question and the mystery remain: should our leaders govern based on what the population wants or based on what is objective and factually the best decision in the long term?
Listening to the government’s argument during the press briefing, it is clear that the government has put its political survival at the forefront rather than Quebec’s interests in the third link issue. In the same breath, he recognizes, “finally” some would say, that the tramway may be unpopular today, but it will become a key key to the development of the National Capital tomorrow.
