Mayor defends deficit for popular àVélo bike rental program

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Quebec City’s àVélo bike rental program may be wildly popular, but it’s also distinctly unprofitable.

According to data the Opposition Québec d’abord party (QCDAB) obtained through an access-to-information request, the program was in the red by $2.3 million in 2023, the third year of the service’s operation.

The party’s interest in the financing of the bike-sharing service follows the city administration’s recent unveiling of a massive expansion of the program over the next four years, to a total of 3,300 bikes and 330 stations throughout the city.

QCDAB Leader Coun. Claude Villeneuve released the figures before the July 2 city council meeting, showing àVélo had revenues of $1.07 million versus expenses of $3.36 million.

To finance this expansion, the city needs to borrow $24 million to buy the bikes and station infrastructure. The loan came up for a vote at the council meeting, with QCDAB members and the two Équipe Priorité Québec members voting against.

Villeneuve said the city needs to be more forthcoming about the financing of àVélo, which is managed by Capitale Mobilité, an agency of the Réseau du transport de la Capitale (RTC).

QCDAB Coun. Alicia Despins said in a statement to the QCT that her party “believes it is irresponsible to authorize over $24 million for the àVélo project without having access to the financial records of Capitale Mobilité. … We are very concerned by the lack of transparency from the Marchand administration regarding the funding.

“I’m a regular user of àVélo. So to be clear, Québec d’abord is not against the àVélo project, which was implemented by the [former mayor Régis] Labeaume administration,” Despins said. “We simply request factual elements to properly manage public funds.”

Mayor Bruno Marchand dismissed opposition concerns about the bike service deficit, saying no form of public transportation operates without a deficit.

“It’s surprising to see such a great success being brushed aside by the opposition. This is what they have been doing since the beginning,” the mayor said.

He said, “Each bicycle trip is a gain for the population since it saves other costs linked to the environment, in particular. We are approaching 500,000 trips. We will exceed a million this year. Now imagine when in four years we will have 3,300 bicycles spread across the city!”

Poilievre won’t fund tramway if he becomes PM

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Just as work is resuming on Quebec City’s tramway project following the green light from the recent Caisse de depôt et placement Infra (CDPQ-Infra), future financial support for the project from the federal government is in doubt.

Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) Leader Pierre Poilievre last week repeated his vow to not provide any funding for the project if he becomes prime minister. He had previously said he would not give the project “one cent.”

Poilievre, on a tour of Quebec in a recreational vehicle, met reporters while visiting Quebec City on June 24 as part of Fête Nationale activities. Encountered by a protester demanding a referendum on the tramway plan, the Conservative leader said, “You don’t want a tramway; well, I don’t either. My thinking remains the same, common sense thinking, to say yes to buses, yes to cars, yes to the third link.”

In 2019, the Liberal federal government of Justin Trudeau committed $2.1 billion to the project which was then – pre-pandemic, pre-inflation – budgeted at $3.3 billion. The Caisse report, released two weeks ago, pegged the cost of the revised first phase of the project at $5.3 billion. The full system, with two other routes to serve the suburbs and a tunnel between Quebec City and Lévis, is estimated at $15.5 billion.

Poilievre said the project would end up costing each household in the metropolitan region $28,000.

As for the “third link,” Poilievre said he supports the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s latest proposal to build a bridge between the eastern ends of Quebec City and Lévis. The government unveiled the plan on June 13 – with no cost or timeline – at the same time it committed to approve the first phase of the tramway project.

In making the surprise bridge announcement, Premier François Legault and Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault gave the compelling reason as “economic security” to avoid the “catastrophe” for commercial traffic if the Pierre Laporte Bridge should be closed for whatever reason.

A Journal de Québec investigation found the Laporte Bridge has never been closed completely for a structural reason, and has only had to close for a total of 22 hours over 54 years for other reasons, such as a suicide or regularly scheduled maintenance.

The Caisse report examined several scenarios for a “third link” but said it was not justified; it did recommend a tramway tunnel if there proved to be a necessity in the future.

Poilievre said the decision to build a bridge is “for the Quebec government, but what I’m saying is that a government led by common-sense Conservatives will make funding available to support a third link, for the future.”

The Conservative leader had by his side during a visit to the Port of Quebec two of his Quebec City-area MPs, Pierre Paul-Hus and Gérard Deltell.

Meanwhile, Éric Duhaime of the Conservative Party of Quebec released a poll con- ducted after the tramway- bridge announcement showing 58 per cent of people surveyed oppose the tramway project, while 34 per cent support it.

The poll, by Toronto-based Pallas Data based on 1,445 respondents, also found Duhaime’s party is neck and neck with the Parti Québécois in the Quebec City region, with about 30 per cent support; the CAQ is far behind with 18 per cent.

Denis Coderre enters Quebec Liberal leadership race in Bellechasse

Peter Black, Local Initiative Reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Vowing to run in the Bellechasse riding on the South Shore, former Montreal mayor and former federal Liberal minister Denis Coderre has entered the race for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party.

Coderre, who turns 61 in July, made the announcement on June 21 in front of the National Assembly, with a group of supporters at his side, including former Liberal MNA Raymond Bernier.

Coderre had announced his interest in the leadership earlier in the year and said he would reflect on the decision during a pilgrimage to Compostela in Spain in May.

Coderre is the first candidate to officially declare for the leadership, which will be decided by a convention in June next year. The job became open when Dominique Anglade resigned following the party’s disappointing 21-seat showing in the 2022 election.

Coderre was elected mayor of Montreal in 2013, but narrowly lost to Valérie Plante in 2017; he lost by a larger margin in a comeback attempt in 2021.

In April of last year, Coderre suffered a mild stroke from which he has said he has made a nearly full recovery.

Prior to his run for Montreal City Hall, Coderre was the Liberal MP for the Montreal riding

of Bourassa, winning the seat in 1997 after three unsuccessful tries. He was named minister of immigration in 2002, but after the 2004 election, was not reappointed to cabinet by then-prime minister Paul Martin.

Coderre, who says he voted Yes in the 1980 referendum, has since become a staunch federalist. In 1990, he came a distant second to future Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe in a Montreal byelection.

Coderre said part of the reason he wants to be Quebec Liberal leader is to fight against the Parti Québécois, which, under leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, has vowed to hold a referendum on sovereignty if elected in 2026.

“I don’t need a new country. I’ve got one,” Coderre said. “The best way not to have a referendum is not to vote for them [the PQ].”

At the announcement press conference, Coderre said he chose the Bellechasse riding “because it is a federalist riding with a high French-speaking content and an agricultural and industrial character.”

Even though the Liberal candidate in the 2022 election got only four per cent of the vote in the riding, now held by Stéphanie Lachance of the Coalition Avenir Québec, Coderre has said he will run there even if he does not win the leadership.

Coderre said he is in favour of a “third link” between Quebec City and the South Shore, and would support whatever Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand thinks is best for the tramway plan.

Coderre said he invited “all the disappointed Liberals” to join him. “I think we need experienced men and women. I’ve always loved this party. I have deep roots in it, no mat- ter what anyone says. I think it’s important for us to come together again.”

Coderre said he plans to embark on a series of spaghetti dinners in all 125 ridings in the province to raise support for his campaign.

Other potential candidates, according to media reports, are Frédéric Beauchemin, MNA for Marguerite-Bourgeoys; Charles Milliard, former president of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ); and Antoine Tardif, the mayor of Victoriaville.

Court rejects parking garage on former church site on Grande Allée

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Peterblack@qctonline.com

Those unaware of a prolonged legal battle between a developer and Quebec City Hall might be curious to know why there is a huge grassy vacant lot on Grande Allée kitty-corner from the Concorde Hotel.

Last week, the dispute between developer Louis Lessard and the city over a proposed nine-storey parking garage reached a new stage, with the Quebec Superior Court rejecting Lessard’s claim the city had acted in bad faith by making zoning changes that prohibited the project.

The decision, rendered June 13 by Judge Jean-Louis Lemay, is the latest chapter in a saga dating back to December 2010, when Lessard purchased the long-abandoned Église Saint- Coeur-de-Marie. Thus ensued a back-and-forth between the city and Lessard over his plans to redevelop the church site. After the city rejected a reported nine different proposals for a multi-storey residential building, some incorporating parts of the existing church, Lessard sued the city for $12 million in damages in 2017. (He later dropped the suit). Meanwhile the church, built in 1920, was deteriorating, with critical roof damage, to the point Lessard was granted a permit to demolish the structure.

In 2019, the building – with distinctive neo-Byzantine architecture but no heritage pro- tection – was levelled and the lot cleared in preparation for a building project. Lessard went back to the drawing board and proposed the parking garage, which, he contended in the suit against the city, conformed to existing zoning laws.

The city subsequently made zoning changes in 2022 and 2023 to close a loophole allowing “parking and taxi stands” in the area comprising Lessard’s lot.

Lessard claimed the city made the changes to deliberately block his application for a building permit for the parking garage project.

In his ruling, the judge concluded Lessard had not proved he had a prima facie right to a building permit and furthermore, had not fully complied with the application process, including failure to pay the full $57,600 fee to the city.

The court also affirmed the changes to the zoning plan to ban parking structures were within the city’s justified rights to correct an error or oversight. It noted the urban planning committee had made similar changes in many other zones in the city, so Lessard could not claim he was the “victim of discriminatory treatment.”

Though Mayor Bruno Marchand had described the parking garage project as “something good for the 1970s,” the judge ruled there was no element of “a plot” by elected officials or civil servants against Lessard.

City councillors Catherine Vallières-Roland and Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc had been called as witnesses in the case.

Contacted by the QCT, Loik Lessard, son of the developer and a company official, said in an email, “We are in reflexion and we are analyzing our options.”

CAQ approves Phase 1 of tramway, commits to build new bridge

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The Coalition Avenir Québec government of Premier François Legault did what it said it would do and approved the recommendations for a transit system contained in the report it commissioned.

It also did something contrary to the recommenda- tions in the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Infra (CDPQ Infra) study. It made a commitment to build another bridge for motor vehicle traffic across the St. Lawrence River at the east end of the city, po- tentially at one of the widest and deepest points in the river.

At a June 13 news confer- ence the day after the Caisse released its report, Legault evoked “economic security” as the main reason for proceeding with a third link to back up the Pierre Laporte and Quebec bridges.

In April 2023, the CAQ government abruptly cancelled a plan to build a tunnel under the river, claiming the volume of traffic did not justify the multi-billion-dollar cost.

In the wake of a subsequent byelection defeat in the Jean-Talon riding in September, Legault said the government would revisit the third link question. It was included in the mandate of the Caisse study of the global transit needs of the Quebec City region.

The Caisse, however, examined six possible options for an intercity link and concluded none was justifiable. It did suggest a tramway tunnel if circumstances deemed it necessary.

Legault told reporters, “I think that when you look at the file and take a step back, even looking at the inconveniences, we are better off having this new road.”

The premier raised the spectre of the closing of the Pierre Laporte Bridge, the only span capable of handling heavy truck traffic east of Trois-Rivières, as an economic catastrophe for the region.

“As premier, the question I have to ask with my col- leagues is can we live with this economic risk?” Legault said.

Neither Legault nor Transport Minister Genèvieve Guilbault would commit to a timeline for construction of the bridge, which, presumably, would connect the Beauport Autoroute 40 interchange with Autoroute 20 on the South Shore.

Guilbault said the government could seek expertise from around the world about how to build a bridge across the river in an area that, according to experts consulted in media reports, poses many engineering challenges.

Regardless, Legault said the bridge project will move forward. “There will be no other economic or traffic studies. I think there have been enough now,” he said.

As for the Quebec City transit project the Caisse proposed, Legault was cautious about making a too-sweeping commitment. He said the government will give the green light to the first phase of the project, notably the tramway line between Le Gendre in the west and Charlesbourg in the north-west.

As for the subsequent phases, Legault said that would be a question of future discussions with Quebec City and Lévis.

Mayor Bruno Marchand applauded the government’s decision in a statement, saying he is “delighted the government immediately confirmed the implementation of the first phase of the CITÉ plan.”

Caisse proposes tramway in master plan for regional transit

Peter Black

peterblack@qctonline.com

Delivered within the six-month deadline, and containing many new elements from the previous plan, the Caisse de dépôt et placement de Québec Infra (CDPQ Infra) has laid out a sweeping master plan for transit in the greater Quebec City region.

Unveiled at a crowded news conference on June 12, the project, called the Circuit integré de transport express (CITE) plan, foresees a tramway, rapid bus service and potentially a mass transit tunnel between Quebec City and Lévis, built in three phases.

Phase 1 of the CITE project is similar in its key elements to the project the city had underway until the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government put it on pause in November over concerns about the escalating cost.

In the altered version the Caisse proposes, the central tramway line would run from Cap-Rouge in the west to Charlesbourg in the north-east, passing along Boul. Laurier and Boul. René- Lévesque, with a tunnel to Saint-Roch.

The previous plan had the eastern terminus on Rue D’Estimauville, a change that had been imposed by the CAQ government; the initial route the city proposed in 2018 when the plan was first unveiled included the Charlesbourg line.

The new line would run for 28 kilometres, compared to the 19 km of the D’Estimauville version.

Under the Caisse plan, the D’Estimauville extension would be built in Phase 2, and a line from Charlesbourg to the Lebourgneuf sector in the northwest in Phase 3. A spur to Jean Lesage International Airport is also in the long-term plan.

Supplementing the tramway would be two rapid bus (SRB) networks running on dedicated lanes serving suburban areas, as well as the downtown core of Lévis. The Quebec City SRB line would run along Boul. Charest, connecting to the tramway in Saint-Roch in the east and Boul. René-Lévesque in the west.

In Lévis, the SRB line would pass along Boul. Guillaume-Couture to the Desjardins complex, connecting in the west with the Sainte-Foy transit hub after crossing one of the two bridges.

Both SRB lines are included in the first phase of the project.

The Caisse plan hopes to trim the cost of the tramway and increase its “social acceptability” by several measures: reducing the size of the tram cars, making stations smaller, lowering the platform for the tram rails and using available battery technology to reduce the amount of overhead electrical lines.

The CITE plan, according to the CDPQ Infra release, “proposes new, interconnected transit solutions that will offer high service frequencies, with extended timetables, increased comfort and reliability and significant time savings, reducing travel time by up to half in some areas.”

The report says the plan “has the potential to significantly increase ridership on the [metropolitan Quebec City] public transit system, adding at least 40,000 people a day. This represents a minimum increase in public transit ridership of 30 per cent, generating a further reduction in GHG emissions.”

As for a “third link” between Quebec City and Lévis, the Caisse recom- mends a seven-km tunnel dedicated exclusively to a tramway line be built between the downtowns of the two cities, “in time and in accordance with demographic and densification conditions.”

The report, after studying six possible crossing sites, concluded “the traffic flow on any of the corridors studied would be relatively low, as would the reduction in the number of vehicles on existing bridges. The addition of an intercity road would move congestion points deeper into the Quebec City road network, forcing a reconfiguration of these corridors. As a result, the marginal gains in mobility for the [greater Quebec City metropolitan area] cannot, on their own, justify the construction of a new intercity road.”

The $15.5-billion estimated cost includes $7 billion for the tramway, $4.5 billion for SRB and express bus lanes, and, should it proceed, $4 billion for the tramway tunnel.

The city’s budget for the tramway line, updated in November, had been $8.4 billion.

TRAM TRACKER

Marchand embraces Caisse transit report: ‘It’s time to act’

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Scarcely containing his relief and satisfaction, Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand declared, “The time for hesitation is over; the time of division too; the time to take action is now.”

Marchand was responding to the Caisse de dêpot et placement du Québec Infra (CDPQ Infra) report giving a resounding thumbs-up to the essentials of the tramway project he has been piloting since his election in 2021, which was in the works for many years previously under former mayor Régis Labeaume.

The day before the June 12 release of CDPQ Infra’s much-anticipated Plan CITE (Circuit integré de transport express), the mayor was briefed on the massive report, which contained the conclusions of CDPQ Infra experts who examined some 1,000 studies and heard from 179 interested parties.

The mayor rejected suggestions by reporters that the Caisse report is a personal victory for him, after the CAQ government had put the tramway project on hold in November and called on the Caisse to study transit needs in the greater Quebec region.

Asked by the QCT how he felt personally when he first opened the report and saw it endorsed the tramway, Marchand said, “I don’t give a damn. My only goal is to build a city and it’s not personal … you have to think about 500,000 people and not about you.”

Marchand said, “The city agrees entirely with the report” saying the Caisse recognized “the immense needs” of the region and “could not be more clear” in its call for a multi-faceted approach to addressing those needs. The mayor said he was particularly pleased to see the Plan CITE address service for residents in all corners of the city.

He said it doesn’t do any good to regret whatever time was lost in the tramway construction schedule while the Caisse undertook its study. He said construction could resume quickly because so much preparatory work had already been done by the tramway project office.

He also said he had no issue with CDPQ Infra taking charge of the project, and had spoken already with Caisse head Charles Émond.

In other reaction, Opposition and Québec d’abord leader Coun. Claude Villeneuve, whose party has long supported the tramway, said, “Let’s stop fooling around and let’s do it quickly,” saying it’s time to end the “dithering” that’s wasted time and money.

Villeneuve noted the tramway route to Charlesbourg the Caisse proposed is the same as that advanced by the Labeaume administration in 2018.

“With the project presented in 2018, in two years (2026), we could have had a functional tram at the price before the pandemic when it was still possible to eat at a restaurant for less than $20,” Villeneuve said.

Transition Québec Leader and Limoilou Coun. Jackie Smith said in a statement, “While I do not agree with the mayor’s decisions or way of doing things … [i]n this matter I will remain an ally and I invite everyone to leave partisanship and petty politics aside, in the name of the best interests of our fellow citizens. We have wasted enough time.”

Nora Loreto, founder of the Québec désire son Tramway group, said, “The report is a slam dunk. It’s everything we wanted and more.” She was particularly pleased about the Lebourgneuf tramway extension in Phase 3.

As a political move, Loreto said, “Frankly, I’m shocked the CAQ put it to the Caisse without having an idea what it was going to suggest. This is the worst news for the CAQ. The delays cost billions. They’re going to wear this going into the next election.”

Meanwhile, Quebec Conservative Party Leader Éric Duhaime is calling for a referendum on the choice of a tramway system for the region.

In a news release, he said, “The Legault government cannot move forward with the largest investment in the history of the Quebec City region without democratic legitimacy. If there were elections today, [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau, [Premier François] Legault and Marchand would lose power. All three of them are at the end of their regime and elections are planned for next year and the following year.”

JHSB job ‘such a great fit’ for Mélie de Champlain

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

(This is the second story in a two-part series. Part One appeared in the June 12 edition.)

One might call the circumstances that led Mélie de Champlain to become the new head of Jeffery Hale–Saint Brigid’s health and social services a bit ironic. The key factor was the COVID-19 pandemic.

De Champlain had decided to take a year off from her five-year stint as a top administrator with Vancouver Coastal Health on Vancouver Island. She and her husband decided to take a cross-Can- ada trip to her parents’ home in Matane. Along the way, they both contracted COVID.

During the two weeks they spent recuperating in Matane, she said she realized how much her parents missed her and how much she missed her parents and brother.

What’s more, she said, “I realized I was missing Quebec; I missed my culture. I had been immersed in English in British Columbia. A huge part of me was not being fulfilled.”

She reflected on her next career move on the trip back to the West Coast, and once back in Vancouver, she started checking out opportunities in her field in Quebec. She soon found herself on the phone with Jeffery Hale Community Partners head Richard Walling and senior health network official Patrick Duchesne.

“They were testing my English,” she joked. “But I told them, ‘I want to come.’”

De Champlain officially started the job as head of Jeffery Hale–Saint Brigid’s (JHSB) combined health services in December 2023. As it turned out, her case of COVID had brought her to the management of two facilities particularly hard hit by the pandemic.

Now that she’s been on the job for a year and a half, she’s gotten to know the English- speaking community she serves. “It’s a community that has a strong philanthropic history and has a strong sense of belonging and doesn’t want anybody left behind,” she said.

That means, she said, finding “creative ways to provide them with services, involving Jeffery Hale Partners and [Voice of English-speaking Québec]. That is really the strength of the anglophone community.”

Asked what challenges she identified once she settled into the job, de Champlain immediately mentioned recruitment of qualified staff, particularly bilingual staff allowing JHSB to meet its commitment to a level of service in French and English, especially at Saint Brigid’s.

She said some 30 care aides have been hired in recent months and considers that critical situation resolved for now. However, the challenge of finding bilingual nurses remains.

Another challenge has been finding space in the hospital to adapt to changing needs. She gives the example of a new clinic for latent tuberculosis cases and a unit for evaluating asylum seekers.

“We tried to be creative and optimize space and were able to create those two clinics,” she said.

Another big task on de Champlain’s plate is the longstanding project to build a new care home to replace Saint Brigid’s which no longer suits the needs of a clientele requiring, for the most part, heavy care.

At the instigation of Walling and JHSB board chair Bryan O’Gallagher, Quebec Infrastructure Minister and Minister for the capital region Jonatan Julien recently visited Saint Brigid’s to observe the conditions.

De Champlain said she is “optimistic” plans for a new facility will be put on the government’s priority list.

Now with a firm grasp on the demands of the job and declaring “it’s been such a great fit” for her, de Champlain said her message to the community is that “the services of the Jeffery Hale are continuously changing and transforming according to the needs of the population.

“We’ve got community services that are providing care for all, we’ve got the minor emergencies clinic, we’re renovating the medical imaging unit right now. We’ve got lab tests …, ” and on and on.

When she’s not tending to the health needs of the community, de Champlain, the mother of a young adult son and daughter, relishes walking around her adoptive city. “It’s like visiting five different neighbourhoods on the same walk.”

For the adventurous nurse from Matane, after a lifetime of working around the world and in Canada, it’s like she’s found home.

Around the world and from Matane to Quebec City for new JHSB boss

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

(This is Part One of a two-part feature)

Strange as it may seem, combating leprosy in the Amazon jungle, treating flood victims in Mozambique, helping desperate Syrian refugees in Greece and providing health services in the Far North were experiences that Mélie de Champlain says prepared her for her new job as head of Jeffery Hale -Saint Brigid’s care services.

De Champlain was hired in December 2023, and now that she’s settled into the job, she was happy to speak to the QCT about the extraordinary background that led her to Quebec City’s English-language health service hub and the challenges and opportunities the job presents.

The interview took place in de Champlain’s office on the second floor of the Jeffery Hale pavilion, adjacent to the hospital of the same name. 

De Champlain’s official title is director of Jeffery Hale – Saint Brigid’s grouped institution of the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de la Capitale Nationale.

Her path to a job in the upper strata of the Quebec government health bureaucracy was an unorthodox one but somehow destined for an ambitious, care-driven and world-wise young woman from Matane in the Gaspé region. 

De Champlain said it was the influence of her father, the accountant at the Cégep de Matane, that opened her eyes to the world. “Dad was always talking to my brothers and sisters about the world. He’d always bring us newspapers and talk about the news of the world.” 

In the same vein, he insisted the children learn English. De Champlain said she spent summers at an English camp in Nova Scotia and joked her English has a Nova Scotia accent.

Upon graduation from the local Cégep’s nursing school, de Champlain’s first job was at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, an experience she describes as “a real bath in anglophone culture and international culture at the same time.”

She earned advanced degrees in nursing at Université de Montréal and Université Laval, getting her master’s specializing in heart disease and infectious diseases. 

She also did some volunteer work with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF – Doctors Without Borders) and attended a conference whose guest speaker was a humanitarian worker who had just returned from Angola. It was a fateful encounter.

The humanitarian was Vancouver native Michael Klobuchar; the two clicked, and in 1998 she headed off to join him in Brazil’s Amazon basin to work with a United Nations non-governmental agency combating leprosy.

Upon her return to Canada a year later, she found a public health job in another climatic extreme, in Puvirnituq, in Nunavik. After a few years working there, separated from Klobuchar, she decided to join him in working with MSF in hotspots around the world, including the war zone in Angola and epic flooding in Mozambique.

In 2001, pregnant with her first child, de Champlain and her husband returned to Canada, first to Vancouver, then moving to Toronto where she worked at the MSF office there. 

De Champlain then made the switch from globe-trotting humanitarian work to health care administration in regional Quebec, taking a job with the health network in Matane – where her second child was born – and then later in nearby Amqui in the Matapedia Valley. 

While in Amqui she completed a master’s degree in health management. She also discovered that “all this humanitarian work shaped me as a leader.”

The family then returned to Klobuchar’s home turf in B.C., where de Champlain, despite her doubts about getting a job in English, landed a major position with Vancouver Island emergency services.

“It was quite a leap,” she said, “being responsible for three major hospitals in Victoria and Nanaimo plus regional hospitals.”

In 2016, during the Syrian refugee crisis in the Mediterranean Sea, she used her Christmas vacation time to fly to Greece to join in the humanitarian effort. Inspired by another B.C. woman, she contacted an NGO on the ground, crowd-sourced the trip and raised more for the relief effort.

Upon her arrival she found herself managing health care for refugees arriving in boats. “I was working on the beach on the island of Lesbos. When families arrived we would triage them and treat hypothermia.” 

De Champlain said she has kept in touch with some of the refugees she cared for, and recently heard from one who had moved to Burlington, Ontario.

In 2018, de Champlain took a job with B.C. Coastal Health in Vancouver which lasted for five years – and then the COVID-19 pandemic struck. That set the stage for a fateful road trip that brought Mélie de Champlain to Quebec City and Jeffery Hale – Saint Brigid’s. 

That story next week.

Quebec City’s ComediHa! buys Just for Laughs

Quebec City’s ComediHa! buys Just For Laughs

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The QCT reported two weeks ago that ComediHa!, the Quebec City-based comedy and entertainment company, was planning to stage a comedy festival in Montreal this summer.

It turns out that was only the opening act for a much bigger show. Last week, the 25-year-old company got court approval to acquire most of the assets of the venerable, but bankrupt Juste pour rire/ Just for Laughs company.

In March, Just for Laughs announced it was folding due to financial issues. ComediHa! quickly stepped in to take over the production of the musical Waitress. Then, in May, it announced the staging of a multi-venue comedy festival in Montreal from July 18 to 28, to partly fill the vacuum the demise of Just For Laughs left.

The assets now in the ComediHa! fold include the brands Juste pour rire, Just For Laughs, ZooFest, ComedyPro and Just For Laughs Gags, and the audiovisual catalogue.

ComediHa! founder and CEO Sylvain Parent-Bédard said in a June 4 release, “This asset acquisition will enable us to offer even more diverse entertainment experiences to our Quebec, Canadian and global audiences while supporting the growth and development of our artists and content around the world. We are also becoming a strategic player for international artists who want to perform in Quebec and Canada.”

No sale price has been disclosed for the transaction. Parent-Bedard said in media interviews following the approval of the deal by a judge of the Quebec Superior Court that no decision has been made to change the branding of the well-established Just for Laughs assets.

He said in a Radio-Canada interview, “I have always said that we owe a lot to Just for Laughs, to its leaders, to everything they have opened up and pioneered internationally for Quebec and made Quebec a hub for humour, both in French as well as English with stand-up, but also with Gags, which have been distributed in more than 125 countries. It’s something extraordinary.”

All employees of the Montreal operation still on the job are expected to stay in place under the company’s new owner.

Simons to open stores in two landmark malls

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Quebec City’s little dry goods store that could is taking two more huge steps into the retail big time.

La Maison Simons an- nounced last week it plans to open new stores next year in two of the country’s landmark shopping malls in Toronto – the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in north-central Toronto and CF Toronto Eaton Centre in the downtown district. (CF stands for Cadillac-Fairview, the mall’s owner).

The stores will be the com- pany’s third in the Toronto area, adding to its space in Mississauga’s Square One, and the 18th and 19th in its nationwide network of stores.

Company president and CEO Bernard Leblanc said in a June 6 release, “We believe in the vitality and competitiveness of the Canadian re- tail landscape and are excited about the future here and about growing here.”

Leblanc said, “Despite cur- rent economic challenges in the retail landscape, our sales growth in Mississauga has steadily increased since opening and is up by more than three per cent over the last fiscal year.”

Leblanc is the first non- family member to head Simons, founded in Quebec City in 1840, since taking over from Peter Simons two years ago. Peter Simons continues to be involved in the role of “chief merchant.” Brother Richard Simons is also a key executive in what remains a family-owned enterprise.

The Simons store in the Yorkdale mall will span two floors with over 118,000 square feet of shopping space; the Eaton Centre store will be three storeys and have over 110,000 square feet.

Both new stores will be designed by Quebec’s Lemay- Michaud Architecture, with interior design by Toronto-based Gensler Design. The design “will be inspired by natural elements, with the sun serving as a beacon of light,” the release said.

With the store at the Eaton Centre, Simons will be making a statement of sorts about the evolution of the retail fashion industry. Eaton’s was for generations one of Canada’s leading retail chains, until it succumbed in 1999 to competition and changing trends.

Simons opened its most eastern store earlier this year in Halifax, and two years ago added to its Quebec presence with a store at the Fairview Mall in Pointe Claire.

Retail analyst Liza Amiani said in a CBC News story in the wake of the latest Simons foray, the company is likely to succeed in the endeavour because “it has the trifecta down – the trifecta being product, customers and marketing. And what they’re doing is they are connecting all the dots.”

Indigenous art to be installed on Cap Diamant

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Work is underway at the scenic Cap Diamant lookout on the Plains of Abraham to prepare the site for the installation of two major works by Indigenous artists.

The National Battlefields Commission (NBC) that manages the sprawling park announced the project in a May 30 news release under the title, “An encounter between Indigenous art from east and west on the Plains of Abraham.”

The project began two years ago with the promise of a gift of West Coast Native art from the philanthropist and art aficionado Michael Audain. The entrepreneur is also one of the major funders of the huge new pavilion project to showcase the works of Jean Paul Riopelle soon to begin construction on the site of the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec, also on the Plains.

NBC board chair Jean Robert told the QCT he met Audain two years ago at his Vancouver office, shortly after Audain visited Quebec City for the Riopelle announcement in February 2022.

The topic of a possible gift to the Plains came up in the conversation, Robert said, and Audain mentioned he had been working on a commissioned work, called The Three Watchmen, with Haida artist and hereditary chief James Hart.

In Hart’s words, the 20-foot- high bronze statue depicts “three men sitting back to back looking out for danger approaching. If spotted, they then climb down to come and warn you of this.”

Hart’s totems and sculptures “are featured at many locations across North America and into Europe,” according to the release.

Robert said it soon became apparent that the installation of a West Coast Indigenous work of art on the Plains would be problematic for the Huron-Wendat nation, who lay ancestral claim to the Quebec City territory.

Robert said, “We needed to have an agreement with the Huron-Wendats,” so a proposal was negotiated to have a Wendat artist provide “a monument of equal value” to Hart’s work.

The artist selected is Ludovic Boney, whose work titled Remembering Through Beads consists of a series of large rings symbolizing wampum beads. Boney’s large-scale pieces are displayed at many public art spaces, including the Musée National des Beaux-Arts and the Musée de la Civilisation.

Boney said of Remembering Through Beads, “Placed on the lawn, the wampum beads tell us a story – the immense and persistent memory of our ancestors.”

Robert said Hart’s large work is already in storage in the city, delivered in the fall from the New York City foundry where it was cast.

What remains to be done now, Robert said, is to prepare the site on Cap Diamant where the two works will be installed in preparation for an anticipated official inauguration at the end of September.

He said plants of particular significance to Indigenous peoples will be planted on the site for next year.

Robert said Audain and his family plan to attend, as well as Hart and traditional Haida dancers.

The two pieces, he said, are the first major works of art to be installed on the Plains since the 1938 gift of the Jeanne d’Arc statue in the garden of the same name.

As far as the significance of the works of art for the Plains’ relationship with Indigenous peoples, Robert said it’s been overdue for a “recognition that this was their home. There’s been little mention.” He said it’s fitting the art should be installed at “maybe the nicest part of the Plains with the view of the river.”

He estimates the overall cost of the project at more than $2.5 million, including transport of the Hart piece and landscaping the site. He said the NBC has put aside money for major projects, and he is looking for donations and sponsorships to help defray the cost.

Robert said Audain’s gift “may mark the beginning of more effort into philanthropy. We know there are some Quebecers who would be happy to get involved.”

Peter Black

June 5, 2024

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com 

The city has slated public consultations on June 12 for a fast-tracked 13-storey apartment building in Ste-Foy. 

In a May 29 announcement, Mayor Bruno Marchand said the city is using its newly acquired powers under Bill 31 to speed up approval of the project, called Laforest, at the intersection of Rue de la Forest and Chemin Saint-Louis.

The mayor said the law “allows the construction of residential projects to be authorized within considerably shorter time frames than those provided for in the law on development and urban planning.”

He said the city’s housing crisis, with a vacancy rate of less than one per cent, justifies greenlighting the 350-unit project, which might otherwise take more than a year for approval.

The complex is a project of Groupe Stratera Inc., which calls itself an avant-garde real estate developer. According to concept images, it would have two taller buildings of up to 13 storeys located behind two six-storey buildings fronting the street.

The project is located on a lot that currently has a shopping mall with a pizza restaurant, a pharmacy, a beauty salon, a bakery and a tire store. The city says preparatory construction will begin during the summer, with units available for occupancy in 2026.

The QCT has learned the pizzeria, drugstore and beauty salon will be included in the Laforest project. Valérie Routh, co-owner of Piazzetta Saint-Louis, said because the project will be done in two phases, her restaurant will be able to move out of its current location and into the new building, with street frontage, once it is completed.

She said she and the other tenants are currently negotiating new lease terms with the developer. 

As for the rental units, the mayor acknowledged there are no specific provisions at this point for a dedicated amount of social housing. He said in a Journal de Québec report that the Laforest project will free up more affordable housing when the new occupants move into the building.

That explanation did not satisfy Limoilou Coun. and Transition Québec Leader Jackie Smith. “It is unacceptable that we give a boost to this type of project without requiring the presence of social housing in return. There is money allocated to the Rent Supplement Program which is sitting in the coffers,” she said in a statement. 

A factor contributing to the city’s decision to employ the fast-track law is that “it is a low-carbon residential and commercial project which will be powered by geothermal energy,” the mayor said. It will also feature a public park square and a green roof.

The consultation, at which city officials will explain details of the project, will take place at the Centre de Glaces Intact Assurance on Ave. De Rochebelle at 6:30 p.m. on June 12.

City council needs to approve the fast-track designation of the project by a majority vote at its June 18 meeting. Further information on the Laforest project can be found on the city’s website.

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This image shows the proposed Laforest project at the northwest corner of Rue de la Forest and Chemin Saint-Louis. 

Image from Groupe Stratera 

Peter Black

June 5, 2024

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The Trudel Alliance property development company, already busy with huge projects to transform shopping malls in suburban areas, is now targeting a vast parking lot in Saint-Roch for redevelopment.

William Trudel confirmed last week that he and his brother and business partner Jonathan have big plans for what is known as Îlot Dorchester, a 100,000-square-foot lot bordered by Rues Saint-Vallier, Sainte-Hélène, Caron and Dorchester.

A May 31 report in Le Soleil provided details of the project, which would include a 20-storey hotel, hundreds of housing units and new commercial space. William Trudel would not confirm the details reported but did say his company has been consulting privately with concerned parties in the vicinity.

The Trudels bought the property for $6 million in 2022 after having managed the parking lot for another owner for several years previously. Over the years, several development projects have been proposed for the site but none moved beyond the planning stages.

The plan for a 20-storey hotel would require a change to the current zoning regulations, although a building of the same size, the Tour Fresk, was built in 2016 about a block away, on Rue de la Couronne. 

According to information Le Soleil gathered from people consulted about the project, it would include a large major brand grocery store to meet the needs of the Saint-Roch neighbourhood.

Plans for the Îlot Dorchester project would follow the strategy Trudel Alliance is employing in its other major redevelopments, incorporating a mix of housing with commercial space and public areas.

The company’s redevelopment of Place Fleur de Lys in Vanier is well underway, with projects also moving forward at Galeries Charlesbourg and Place Quatre-Bourgeois. 

Trudel spokesperson David Chabot told Le Soleil, “We do not want to comment on the current process out of respect for the citizens who have not yet been met. We are in voluntary consultation to measure the receptivity and interest of partners and citizens in relation to the proposed project.”

The QCT contacted City Hall to confirm the Ilot Dorchester project but did not receive a response by press time. 

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This map shows the large parking lot in Saint-Roch known as Îlot Dorchester, slated to become a hotel, residential and commercial complex. 

Image from Google Maps

Peter Black

May 29, 2024

Local Journalism Initiative reporter 

peterblack@qctonline.com 

A massive former Quebec government building near the St. Charles River had been slated to be demolished. Instead, next year, once extensive renovation work is completed on the abandoned former headquarters of the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), some 208 apartments will be added to the housing stock of the Vanier district.

The family-owned company Les Immeubles Simard acquired the five-storey structure in 2017, shortly after the CNESST announced plans to move its headquarters to a brand-new building in the D’Estimauville neighbourhood. 

The initial plan had been to demolish the building, opened in 1970, which had become a money pit for renovation work. According to media reports at the time, a $130 million project to upgrade and expand the structure had to be abandoned in 2016 due to cracks in its foundation. Some $20 million had already been spent.

The Simards had to wait five years for the CNESST to move into its new digs in 2022 to be able to start work on their project, which, company executive Jean-Michel Simard told the QCT, was initially imagined as an office building.

The pandemic changed that thinking, and the company, in partnership with construction giant Ogesco, shifted the focus to residential units, which involved transforming an office complex and rehabilitation centre into apartments.

Assured that there were no foundation issues for their project, work to gut the building and bring it up to code began in earnest a year ago, Simard said. Because of the configuration of the building, the units, ranging in size from 3 ½ to 5 ½, will be a different style, capitalizing on the high ceilings, long and narrow width and tall windows.

The marketing material on the website for Le Rivero, the project’s name, reflecting its proximity to the Saint-Charles River, describes the units as New York-style, “characterized by distinctive elements such as exposed concrete and large windows.”

Most of the units will feature what are called loggia, year-round enclosed balconies, heated in the winter and “open to the outside” in the summer. The rent ranges from $1,195 a month for the smaller units to a minimum of $2,295 a month for the larger ones.

The rental office for Le Rivero opened last week and Simard said the response has been very strong. “We’re looking at a market that wants something different,” noting that the apartments on offer have rents competitive with less distinctive units of the same size.  

Apartments completed in the first three phases of the project are slated for June 2025 occupancy, Simard said.

The complex includes amenities such as an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, an interior pickleball court, a landscaped courtyard and a lounge area. 

Simard said that besides the attractive features of the rental units, the big selling point is the building’s location on the St. Charles River and in a section of Vanier undergoing major redevelopment.

Simard said the company has other plans in the works for future phases of the development. 

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This image shows how the former CNESST headquarters in Vanier will be transformed into 208 rental units.  

Image from Graphsynergie

Large windows allow for the creation of year-round loggia rooms, available in many of the units in Le Rivero. 

Image by Étienne Dumas, 3D artist

Peter Black

May 22, 2024

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com 

Quebec City has a brand new police station, opened several years later and in a different location than originally planned, but delivered under budget and to rave reviews.

City officials gave an inaugural tour of the five-storey structure on May 14. Located in the Charlesbourg district on Boul. Louis XIV near the Autoroute Laurentienne, the new headquarters replaces the antiquated police station near Parc Victoria. That building is to be demolished and the park expanded.

Mayor Bruno Marchand, obviously pleased the project came in $2.3 million under its $112-million projected budget, said, “With this incomparable infrastructure, Quebec City now has one of the best facilities in the province. This is an undeniable advantage for continuing to make Quebec a city where citizens feel safe.”

He said, “Here, we have a concrete example that the city is capable of carrying out major projects that will benefit our community. It was high time to modernize the facilities in order to continue to offer quality services to citizens.”

Police Chief Denis Turcotte said, “The new centre will become the pride of all police and civilian personnel. Having the majority of our teams gathered in the same location will allow for better synergy which will undeniably have an impact on the efficiency of our operations, for the benefit of the population.”

The new police HQ, the area of one and a half football fields, features space for 750 workers, or about 70 per cent of personnel, 52 holding cells, 259 interior parking spaces and 629 exterior spaces. To help cops stay in shape, there is a spacious gym and training facilities. 

Various environmental measures in the building’s construction have created a 30 per cent energy saving.

For citizens, the new building offers, according to background information, “various amenities respecting the principles of universal accessibility. They will benefit from closed premises to ensure confidential complaints and self-service computers to submit an event report or a request for a criminal record check.”

Until the new facility is fully operational in the coming weeks, people will still need to go to the stations in Parc Victoria and on Route de l’Eglise in Ste-Foy to pay tickets or file a complaint.

Several years ago, the city purchased property on Rue des Rocailles, near Boul. Pierre Bertrand, at a cost of $2.6 million, for the new police station, but in 2019 the site was deemed to be too small to accommodate parking.

The new police headquarters in Charlesbourg is located on Boul. Louis XIV near the Autoroute Laurentienne.   

Image from Ville de Québec

The new police station contains an exhibit displaying items from the 181-year history of the force. Stéphanie Filteau is the curator. 

Photo from Ville de Québec

Peter Black

May 22, 2024

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com 

The women are in the kitchen having coffee. 

“She asked me where I got one of my jackets from. I said Canada. She asked me, ‘When did I get to Canada?’” The women laugh. One says, “She thought you meant the country.”

“An understandable mistake,” says the lady of the house, the concentration camp commandant’s house.

The scene comes a few minutes into the Oscar-winning movie The Zone of Interest, now available on Prime. If you haven’t seen it, or you did see it and missed the quick reference to “Canada,” there turns out to be a horrific story behind how “Kanada” became associated with one of the grim aspects of the Holocaust.

The “Kanada” to which the women referred was the name for the huge warehouses the Nazis built at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland to store, sort and distribute the possessions confiscated from the more than one million mostly Jewish prisoners who arrived at the camp destined to labour as slaves or to be executed.

It’s unclear how exactly the warehouses – Kanada 1 and Kanada 2 – came to be called Kanada, but according to Holocaust history sources, it was Jewish prisoners themselves who gave the buildings the name, which their Nazi captors adopted. Someone, presumably had the idea in mind that Canada was a place of great abundance. 

(We might interject here that despite the positive thoughts Jewish concentration camp prisoners may have had about Canada, at the time the Nazis were rounding up Jews for extermination, the Canadian government was systematically rejecting Jewish refugees from Europe.)

In the movie, Hedwig Höss, wife of Rudolph Höss, the long-serving commandant at the sprawling Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination centre, receives bundles of clothing delivered in a wheelbarrow by a Jewish prisoner. 

She tries on a fur coat and discovers a tube of lipstick in a pocket. She applies the lipstick, then quickly wipes it from her lips, realizing a Jewish woman was the last person to use it.

The volume of goods taken from new arrivals at the camp was staggering. Jews and other Nazi targets from cities and villages in Poland and elsewhere had no idea where they were headed when ordered to bring up to 100 pounds of possessions and then loaded on trains like animals, often travelling for days without food or water.

Upon arrival at the camp, guards took the prisoners’ goods, from clothing to books, musical instruments and jewelry, and stored them in a “Kanada” while their owners were either stripped and gassed immediately or forced into slave labour.

At their peak, in 1944, up to 2,000 prisoners, called Kanada Kommandos, were working at the Kanada warehousing operation. Most of the goods were shipped to Germany, but some ended up being worn by the commandant’s wife and her friends.

The Zone of Interest is a masterful cinematic expression of the “banality of evil,” political philosopher Hannah Arendt’s description of the methodical way in which the Nazis set about attempting to wipe out the Jews of the world.

The film is based on Martin Amis’ novel of the same name, drawn from the true-life account of the Höss family living an idyllic life in the Polish countryside, with industrial-scale incineration of human beings taking place on the other side of the garden wall.

We never see the grounds of the actual camp – its presence is suggested by the dull rumble of the crematoria and the sound of rifle shots. The only Jews seen are the family servants, including a girl whom Frau Höss admonishes, when she makes a small mistake, that her husband could have her ashes scattered. 

The film’s creator, Jonathan Glazer, opted to include the true story of a young Polish girl who would, secretly in the night, leave apples for the starving labourers at work sites near the camp.

Dare we say The Zone of Interest, winner of the Academy Award for best international feature film, would make an instructive film for screening during the long nights at the campus camp-outs in support of the liberation of Palestinians.

Real liberation of victims of true genocide occurred in January 1945 when a Ukrainian division of Soviet troops opened the gates of Auschwitz and began uncovering the extent of the Nazis’ “final solution.”

The retreating SS camp guards burned the Kanada warehouses to the ground, with whatever remaining goods in them going up in smoke.

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Peter Black

May 22, 2024

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com 

The devil, as they say, is in the details, and it was details that bedevilled the prolonged negotiations between the federal government, CN Rail and the Quebec government that finally resulted in Ottawa retaking possession of the historic structure.

The deal, finally concluded in the last few weeks, centres on the federal government taking over control of the bridge and taking the significant measures required to ensure the historic span’s long-term future.

Two weeks ago, the federally appointed chief negotiator, Yvon Charest, told the QCT that the five major issues in the talks between Ottawa and CN had been resolved, and all that remained were minor issues. He said, “Both parties are motivated” to come to a deal.

Asked why the federal government deemed it so important to take control of the bridge, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “Because it is a perfectly good bridge that has served for many years and can serve for decades more with proper maintenance and upkeep.”

Transport Minister Pablo Rodriquez, who said he often picked up the phone to talk directly to CN management about negotiations, said, “It was the right thing to do” to preserve the bridge for future generations.

Once the federal government takes possession officially in September, work will begin on priorities such as replacing steel components rusted beyond repair – some 2.7 million pounds of metal, according to Rodriguez.

About half of the $1 billion the federal government has committed to the bridge over 25 years will be devoted to repainting the bridge. Work had started a decade ago to repaint the bridge but came to a halt amid a dispute over the escalating cost.

On top of the federal investment in the bridge, CN, whose trains cross the bridge about 12 times a day, is committed to spending $6.1 million a year over 25 years; Rodriguez said that with indexation, the amount could reach $350 million.

Martin Guimont, CN vice-president for eastern Canada, said the company will invest amounts over and above the commitment in the deal and “looks forward to contributing to the economy of Quebec” with the bridge’s rejuvenation.

Under the deal, according to a background document, CN and the Quebec government “will retain responsibility for and ownership of the rail and road decks on the bridge structure, respectively, and will be responsible for all costs associated with these decks, as is currently the case.”

Quebec Infrastructure Minister Jonatan Julien provided no details on Quebec’s plans for the bridge with regards to adapting it to accommodate an expanded public transit component, such as a tramway.

All elected officials at the announcement were cautious about stating any specific impact an upgraded Quebec Bridge – the “first link” – might have on the Quebec government’s desire for a “third link” crossing the St. Lawrence. 

The Caisse de dépôt et placement report on the Quebec City region’s transit needs is expected in June.

Besides freight and passenger train traffic, an average of 33,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily. 

The Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney ceded the Quebec Bridge to CN for $1 in June 1993.

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Peter Black

May 22, 2024

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com 

Calling it a “great day for the Quebec City region,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed the federal government will buy the historic Quebec Bridge for a token $1 and pour some $1 billion into its rejuvenation over the next 25 years.

The May 15 announcement took place at the lookout behind the Quebec aquarium, with the 107-year-old, 543-metre-long “Wonder of the World” in the background. 

It was the exact same setting where three years ago federal ministers announced the Trudeau government’s intention to purchase the bridge from Canadian National, and hired retired insurance executive Yvon Charest to spearhead negotiations. 

Trudeau thanked Charest, who was out of the country and unable to attend the announcement, for his efforts. “Without his work, we would not be here today,” Trudeau said.

MP Joël Lightbound, in whose Louis-Hébert riding the bridge is located, introduced the officials at the ceremony, noting he has been “waiting for this day since the first day I was elected” in 2015. 

Trudeau also saluted Jean-Yves Duclos, the MP for the Québec riding and minister of public services and procurement, calling him the “pillar” of the long and complicated negotiations with CN and the Quebec government.

Duclos credited the signing of the deal 31 years after CN took over the bridge to “hope and hard work,” spanning the terms of eight ministers of transport. He said the revamping of the bridge will offer the region “new options” for transit. 

Duclos also saluted former Quebec City mayor Régis Labeaume, who, along with longtime Lévis Mayor Gilles Lehouillier, pushed for the resolution of the impasse that saw the painting of the bridge started more than 10 years ago and then halted. There was even a “Bill, Paint Your Bridge” campaign aimed at Microsoft founder and major CN shareholder Bill Gates.

Duclos also thanked citizen groups who have led campaigns for action to preserve the bridge. He thanked Trudeau “above all” for his commitment to the bridge negotiations and the betterment of the Quebec City region.

Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez, who also serves as Trudeau’s Quebec lieutenant, lent an extra note of levity to the event by making reference to the iconic Quebec TV series, Les Boys. He said it took “dureté de mental” (mental toughness) to get the job done, in particular the perseverance of Duclos, the expertise of Charest and the commitment of the prime minister.

Rodriguez joked it would be Duclos who paid the symbolic dollar for the bridge as minister of procurement.

Jonatan Julien, Quebec infrastructure minister and minister for the Capitale-Nationale Region said the bridge is “a heritage jewel” that is “in the DNA” of people in the region. He praised the persistence of the federal government since taking power in 2015, to see the bridge’s future ensured.

Quebec City Coun. Maude Mercier Larouche, whose district includes the bridge, said people of the area are very proud of the bridge, but it has “lacked a bit of love” and the rejuvenation of the structure will allow future generations to feel the same pride.

Mayor Bruno Marchand said, “There would be nothing happening here today without political will,” calling the announcement “an immense day for the people of Quebec.” 

He thanked the prime minister, whom he called Justin, saying the acquisition of the bridge would not have been possible without his support.

“We are entering a new era for mobility in the region,” Marchand said. 

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Jean-Yves Duclos, Quebec MP and minister of public services and procurement stands at the podium with (from left) Louis-Hebert MP Joël Lightbound, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez, Quebec City Coun. Maude Mercier Larouche and Quebec Infrastructure Minister Jonatan Julien, with the historic Quebec Bridge in the background. 

Photo by Peter Black

Peter Black

May 8, 2024

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand is denouncing the provincial agency for motor vehicles as a “nuthouse” as the deadline fast approaches for his administration to decide whether to raise money for public transit through the Quebec vehicle registration fee.
Last December, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government granted all municipalities in the province the power to use car registration fees to raise money for public transit, a tool cities in the Montreal region have had since 2010.
Since 1992, a fee of $30 targeted for public transit has been tacked onto the cost of vehicle registration across the province.
At a May 1 news conference at City Hall, Marchand said he is not happy that the Société d’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) has refused to extend the May 31 deadline for municipalities to inform the agency they want to take advantage of the “registration tax.”
The tax would be imposed on new and renewed vehicle registrations as of 2025. According to media reports, some 30 municipalities in Quebec have informed the SAAQ they plan to take advantage of the revenue-generating opportunity.
The mayor said it is “inconceivable” for the SAAQ to keep insisting on the deadline with the overall city transport situation in limbo, pending the report from the Caisse de dépôt et placement infrastructure division on regional transit needs, expected in June. The CAQ government commissioned the study in reaction to the rising cost of the city’s proposed tramway project. 

Marchand decried the “the administrative formalities” behind the May 31 deadline to submit the tax request. “Does that take nine months to do? There is really someone moving numbers in an abacus and [saying] it will take nine months for us to be able to say what will be the amount that we would charge, if we charge?”
The mayor refused to speculate on what amount the city might wish to impose, saying it first needs to have the overall picture of public transit financing.
Marchand’s comments on the registration tax followed on the heels of Transition Quèbec Leader and Limoilou Coun. Jackie Smith’s decision to resign her seat on the board of the Réseau de Transport de Québec (RTC) to protest the city’s lack of action on the tax.
Smith is proposing $1,167, the value of an annual bus pass, be added to the car registration fee. “The government gave us leverage to increase funding for the RTC and we must use it to double the budget dedicated to public transport in Quebec City,” she said in a statement. “This decision would allow us to make free access universal, erase the deficit and develop our network, rather than increasing prices to barely maintain our services.”
Later, at the news conference, Marchand rejected Smith’s demand, saying it would be too heavy a burden on drivers already having a hard time making ends meet.
Smith said she made the decision to resign from the RTC board to stay true to her principles and her campaign vow to fight for free public transit. She said in a CBC Radio interview, “I have to be coherent. I have to defend the principal reason why I was elected. I felt morally I had the responsibility to resign.”
Marchand answered questions about the registration fee at a news conference convened to announce changes to the Equimobilité program aimed at low-income transit users (see article below). As of July 1, transit users eligible for Équimobilité will pay $50 for a monthly pass and $2 for a single ticket. The regular rate is $94.50 for a pass and $3.40 for a ticket.

    PHOTO BELOW 

Transition Québec Leader and Limoilou Coun. Jackie Smith resigned from the Réseau de Transport de Québec (RTC) governing board to protest the city’s lack of action on the taxation of car registrations.

Photo from Transition Québec