by Lorraine Carpenter, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

After Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault said yesterday that “managing public transport and transport companies is not a mission of the province,” Projet Montréal responded with a petition “to make Quebec understand that public transportation is an essential mission of the province.”

Montreal city councillor (and executive committee member for urban planning) Robert Beaudry shared the poll, stating that “public transportation is not a luxury, but a necessity.”

On Monday, members of the Metropolitan Community of Montreal (CMM) requested a meeting with Guilbault to address the province’s shortfall of over $560-million in public transit funding. The mayors of 82 municipalities in Greater Montreal called on the Quebec government to invest more in public transportation, otherwise they could resort to a “substantial increase” in the registration tax.