Economic leaders are pushing for Quebec City’s tramway project to move forward. – Image from Ville de Quebec.
Peter Black
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Peterblack@qctonline.com
Quebec City’s ambitious tramway project got a big boost in support last week from a “common front” of key players in the local economy. Shortly after that ringing endorsement hit the news, Transport Minister Genèvieve Guilbault was conspicuously cool about her support for the plan.
This latest twist in the tramway scheme’s journey came in the countdown to the anticipated submission of bids for the project’s largest contract, a key to calculating the revised overall budget for the system, set at $3.3 billion when the project was launched in 2019. The deadline for the bids for the system infrastructure is Nov. 2.
On Oct. 11, the “common front” issued a statement to respond to recent discussion in the media “of mobility issues in the greater Quebec City region,” a reference to ideas floated by the Coalition Avenir Québec government in the wake of the Oct. 2 Jean-Talon byelection, won by the Parti Québécois candidate.
The 17 signatories to the statement include most major employers in the region, excluding the Quebec government, from Université Laval to the insurance giants. They also include mobility and environmental players such as CAA Quebec, Équiterre and Vivre en Ville.
The statement says, “The tram project is the right solution for Quebec. It responds to real needs and is based on numerous studies. The greater metropolitan region of the capital is experiencing strong economic growth and will welcome tens of thousands of new households in the coming years.
“The current public transport network, restricted to buses, has reached its limits since the end of the last century. To preserve the quality of life, to achieve our environmental objectives and to support the attractiveness of the region without encroaching on agricultural land and natural environments, we need the tramway.”
The common front statement concludes: “Questioning the tram project when it has already been on the rails for several years would send a very bad message about Quebec’s capacity to carry out major infrastructure and public transportation projects.”
Yvon Charest, retired head of Industrial Alliance and proponent of the J’ai Ma Passe pro-tramway group, said in the statement, “This is the first phase of a network that will grow and evolve over time. We must now think about the mobility solutions that the citizens of the region will need for the next 50 years.”
The endorsement by the heavy hitters in the region came as welcome news to the head of a group that’s been trying for months to rally public support for the tramway.
Nora Loreto, co-founder of Québec Desire Son Tramway, told the QCT, “A tramway in Quebec City is a no-brainer. Smart business leaders know that less traffic and a more efficient pathway for people to access their businesses is good for everyone. The most important call right now, is for politicians to commit to helping residents and businesses impacted by the period of construction.”
Meanwhile, Guilbault, the minister responsible for transportation in the province, drew the ire of tramway supporters, notably Mayor Bruno Marchand, for her lack of enthusiasm for the project. The minister made a speech last week to a conference on urban mobility without making reference to Quebec’s tramway plan.
In a subsequent media scrum Guilbault said the city still has to make the “social acceptability case” for the project and cast doubt on Ottawa’s commitment to fund anticipated tramway cost overruns, a claim quickly dismissed by Jean-Yves Duclos, federal Liberal minister and Québec MP.
Marchand, on a visit to Europe, said, “It’s up to her [Guilbault] to demonstrate that she is ready to fight for sustainable mobility in Quebec [City] and throughout Quebec. If she does not demonstrate this quickly, we will come to the conclusion that she is not a good advocate [for the tramway].”
The mayor’s staff issued a statement saying, “We need the minister to be a convinced and convincing advocate” for the tramway project.
The latest tramway hubbub comes as Premier François Legault mused openly about reviving the “third link” discussion, saying there is a need for a tunnel or a bridge to address traffic issues in the greater Quebec City region.