Peter Black
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
With the deadline to submit a report on Quebec City’s urban transit future about four months away, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) Infra officials have been busily meeting with a long list of groups with a stake in the outcome.
As of this writing, according to a list the Caisse provided the QCT, some 33 groups including political parties, environmental advocates, educational groups, municipal officials and employees from building project offices, met with CDPQ Infra representatives between Jan. 16 and Feb. 15.
The consultations are expected to continue into April.
The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government called a halt to work on the tramway project in November following Mayor Bruno Marchand’s update on the cost of the project, which he pegged at about $8.4 billion.
Calling the plan too expensive, the government asked the Caisse’s infrastructure unit, whose major undertaking has been Montreal’s newly opened REM system, to evaluate Quebec City’s urban transit needs and come up with recommendations by June of this year.
The Caisse is also mandated to include the controversial “third link” with the South Shore as part of a global approach to the provincial capital’s transit picture. In April 2023, the CAQ government abandoned its plan to build a tunnel that would be shared by automobiles and public transit.
According to city estimates, at least $613 million has been spent on preparatory work for the tramway including the acquisition of land for stations along the proposed route.
One of the groups consulted was Quebec désire son tramway, a grassroots organization whose goal is to rally public opinion in favour of the tramway project. The group organized a protest march attended by thousands in the wake of the CAQ’s decision to pause the tramway project.
Co-founder Nora Loreto said the group got a two-day notice from CDPQ Infra to attend the meeting on Feb. 15. Although she was out of town and unable to attend, Loreto said the members told her they were relieved to know the Caisse was “not starting from zero” and “very happy about where things seemed to be.”
Loreto said, “When the government announced that they were going to kick it to the Caisse, people were really afraid that that was the end of the project. I didn’t have that fear. I thought it was much more of a political posturing, kind of ‘let’s make this go away for a little bit of time and come back to it later’ decision.”
She said she suspects in the report it eventually presents, the Caisse “might propose modifications, but it would be very surprising if it was a modification that was so big, like an aerial suspended monorail or something.
“We have to remember that we arrived at a tramway because it has been studied so much, because we know that the rapid buses won’t have enough capacity, because we know that for a subway Quebec City is not dense enough and on top of bedrock and there’s not enough dynamite.”
Meanwhile, the head of the Caisse, Charles Émond, told Radio-Canada in an interview on Zone Économie that the group mandated to study Quebec City transit will meet the June deadline for a report.
Émond also said, “There will be a specific project that we will submit. This allows us to offer an integrated solution for the entire metropolitan community of Quebec City.”
Marchand, who has vowed to not comment on the tramway project while it is being studied, did tell Radio-Canada Émond’s admission is good news. However, he said he will “judge the tree by its fruits” and will take the time to analyze the project when it is submitted.
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Work on Quebec City’s tramway system has been halted while the Caisse infrastructure office studies the city’s transit needs.
Image from Ville