Peter Black

Woo and Weiser out as candidates; poll gives Marchand lead

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Woo and Weiser out as candidates; poll gives Marchand lead

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Week two of the Quebec City campaign featured the exit of prominent candidates for two of the main parties running for City Hall, an encouraging poll for Mayor Bruno Marchand, and an original “fourth link” idea from a mayoral candidate.

David Weiser, a prize catch for Marchand’s Québec Forte et Fière (QFF) party when the tech pioneer, nonprofit founder and interfaith relations advocate joined his administration, was removed from the QFF slate over a broken “bond of trust.”

Marchand opted to remove Weiser from his re-election bid in the Plateau district following a report in the Journal de Québec that Revenu Québec had registered a legal hypothec (a form of legal mortgage) on his residence over a tax dispute covering the years 2012 to 2015.

The Journal also reported Weiser had declared personal bankruptcy that was registered in 2021, the year he became a city councillor.

In a statement, Marchand said, “I had a discussion with David … at the end of which I decided to withdraw his candidacy for QFF in the Plateau district. His explanation of the facts brought to my attention has broken our bond of trust.”

Weiser told Radio-Canada he had explained his situation to Marie-Josée Savard, the leader of the party he ran for in the 2021 election, but acknowledged that he did not disclose it to Marchand or his party after he crossed the floor in February 2022.

“I think I was treated unfairly,” he said. “There is an outstanding debt to Revenu Québec, but the legal hypothec is still in effect.”

Weiser said, as is required of elected officials, he submitted his notices of tax assessment to the party every year. Weiser had not responded to the QCT’s request for an interview by press time. QFF has until Oct. 3 to find a replacement candidate in the district.

Sam Hamad’s Leadership Québec had to scramble to find a last-minute candidate as a result of the withdrawal from the race of Napoléon Woo, the party’s purported star candidate in Saint-Roch– Saint-Sauveur. Shortly before this newspaper went to press, on Sept. 29, Radio-Canada reported that Hamad had selected social worker Pascale Houle, who does not live in the district, to represent the party there.

Woo, owner of a local restaurant, exited the team following controversial remarks he made at his candidacy announcement about homelessness in Saint-Roch.

Québec d’Abord, meanwhile, continues to face a challenge in finding candidates for all 21 seats on council with the Oct. 3 deadline looming. As of this writing, the party that evolved from former mayor Régis Labeaume’s organization is still short six candidates. Leader Claude Villeneuve is running for mayor but also for re-election in his Maizerets-Lairet district.

A lack of candidates is not Villeneuve’s only challenge. A Léger poll for the Journal de Québec placed the Opposition leader a distant fourth in the race for mayor, at seven per cent, slightly behind Stéphane Lachance of the upstart right-wing Respect Citoyens party.

The poll found Marchand with a significant but not commanding lead over Hamad, a former provincial Liberal cabinet minister and MNA for Louis-Hébert. Marchand polled 27 per cent in the field of seven candidates, with Hamad at 20 per cent, followed by Lachance and Villeneuve. Transition Québec Leader Jackie Smith had three per cent, and former city councillor and Opposition leader Anne Guérette had one per cent.

The poll also identified the cost of housing as the most important issue in the election, at 38 per cent. The second greatest preoccupation of potential voters was homelessness at 29 per cent. Just behind were public transit at 28 per cent, traffic congestion at 27 per cent, and infrastructure projects like the “third link” at 24 per cent.

On that latter topic, Guérette, who came third in the race

for mayor in 2017 as leader of the now-defunct Démocratie Québec party, has proposed a plan for a “fourth link” between Quebec City and Lévis.

Guérette, an architect and former councillor for Cap-aux-Diamants, is proposing a bridge be built exclusively for public transit in addition to one for car and truck traffic.

In a slick video on her campaign Facebook page, Guérette, a radio commentator and opponent of the tramway in its current configuration, said the public transit bridge, situated to complete a transit loop with a third link, should be built first. She said it could be built with efficient and inexpensive technology for $2.2 billion within four years.

Guérette and her running mate Frédéric Imbeault are seeking election in the Cap-Rouge–Laurentien district under the Parti du Monde banner. As of this writing, the party has not announced any other city council candidates.

Woo and Weiser out as candidates; poll gives Marchand lead Read More »

City to upgrade historic St-Roch building for offices

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City to upgrade historic Saint-Roch building for offices

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

An historic building in Saint-Roch will be undergoing a $17.5-million makeover to be transformed into modern office space for city employees.

The city announced the project in a Sept. 22 news release.

Located at the corner of Rue Saint-Joseph Est and Rue de la Couronne, and known officially as Édifice Joseph-Ernest-Gregoire, the seven-storey building was for many years the tallest structure in the district.

The building, across the street from the Gabrielle- Roy Library, had housed municipal administrative offices since the city acquired it in the 1980s. When the offices were moved to the new YMCA building in Saint-Roch in 2020, a service for homeless and vulnerable people called Répit Basse-Ville moved into part of the building. The service will remain there until next spring, when it will be relocated elsewhere.

Work began on the project on Sept. 22, with the “selective interior dismantling” which will be followed during the winter by the removal of asbestos insulation and a complete interior cleaning. The final phase, to run from fall 2027 to winter 2029, will see the “major renovation of the building, including repair of the envelope, foundations and structures.”

The building is named after Joseph-Ernest Grégoire, a former mayor of Quebec City (1934-1938) who also served concurrently in the National Assembly (1936-1939). He was the father of Gilles Grégoire, one of the founders of the Parti Québécois.

Designed by René-Pamphile Lemay, creator of many city landmarks, including the Dominion Hotel and Maison Pollack, the building was commissioned by the Quebec Railway, Light, Heat and Power Company. It opened in 1911, the tallest structure in what was then a bustling commercial and industrial area, known as Le Faubourg de Saint-Roch.

Called “Le Merger” for undetermined reasons, when it opened, according to the city’s building directory, “newspapers highlighted the building’s quality.” Among other things, they noted “the majestic entrance on Saint- Joseph Street, which seems intent on attracting crowds and clearly indicates by its importance that all of Quebec must pass through it.’”

Tenants over the years included Hydro-Québec and the Kirouac toy store. The building receives a high heritage value rating from the city for its Rationalist-style architecture.

City to upgrade historic St-Roch building for offices Read More »

And they’re off! City Hall campaign begins with feud between Hamad and Villeneuve

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And they’re off! City Hall campaign begins with feud between Hamad and Villeneuve

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The signs are going up, candidates are filing their papers and voters are being asked to reflect and choose who they want to run their towns and cities.

Quebec City, along with some 1,100 other municipalities in the province, is now engaged in an election campaign that will culminate with the election of new civic representatives on Nov. 2.

So far six candidates have declared themselves in the running for mayor: incumbent Bruno Marchand of Québec Forte et Fière; Claude Villeneuve, leader of Québec d’Abord and councillor for Maizerets-Lairet; Jackie Smith, leader of Transition Québec and councillor for Limoilou; Sam Hamad, leader of Leadership Quebec and a former provincial Liberal cabinet minister and MNA for Louis-Hébert; Stéphane Lachance, entrepreneur and leader of Respect Citoyens; and Anne Guérette, an architect, former city councillor and past mayoral candidate, who is running as an independent although she has registered a party name, Parti du monde.

Even before the 45-day campaign began officially on Sept. 19, two candidates were engaged in a skirmish of personal attacks. Villeneuve accused Hamad of intimidation for allegedly saying to him at an event in April, “Be careful with your criticism of me, because you have two beautiful little girls.”

Villeneuve said Hamad repeated the comment at another event. There were no witnesses at either occasion to corroborate Villeneuve’s claim. Hamad asked Villeneuve to withdraw the accusation, which he said amounted to defamation.

It was not the only accusation of intimidation aimed at Hamad last week. Karine Gagnon, the veteran Journal de Québec reporter and municipal affairs columnist, wrote a piece in which she said Hamad “has taken the liberty, during and outside of his press briefings, of attacking my integrity and my reputation, as well as those of the Journal de Québec.”

In another incident in a rocky start to his campaign, Hamad’s candidate in the Saint-Roch–Saint-Sauveur district, restaurant owner Napoléon Woo, went on a rant against the problem of home- lessness in the district.

“Homelessness should be a period of transition, not a culture where you eat for free, you get free housing, you get free clothes … No one died of cold or hunger,” Woo said, as Hamad listened uneasily and then intervened. (Editors’ note: Napoléon Woo is no longer the party’s candidate in Saint-Roch-Saint-Sauveur. On the afternoon of Sept. 22, as this newspaper went to press, Hamad announced that the party had “put an end to” his candidacy.)

On a more positive note for Leadership Québec, the party now has city council candidates in 20 of the 21 districts. A last-minute change saw Patrick Paquet, most recently the non-elected leader of the now-defunct Équipe Priorité Québec (EPQ) party, become the party’s candidate in the Les Saules- Les-Méandres district after Lydie Pincemin withdrew for health reasons. As of this writing, the party has a full slate of candidates, except for Woo’s recently vacated district of Saint-Roch-Saint-Sauveur.

The only other established party not to have a full slate is Villeneuve’s Québec d’Abord, which, as of this writing, was still short six candidates.

Respect Citoyens, meanwhile, has a full slate for its first run at City Hall, including Eric Ralph Mercier, former ÉPQ councillor, former Liberal MNA for Charlesbourg and son of longtime Charlesbourg mayor Ralph Mercier. He’s running in the Des Monts district.

Another notable recruit for the party is Anne-Laurence Harvey in the Loretteville– Les-Châtels district. Harvey is the daughter of Luc Harvey, the former Conservative MP for Louis-Hébert. She has a claim to fame in being the first girl to score a touchdown as a quarterback when she played for the St. Patrick’s High School Fighting Irish football team.

With the election campaign just underway, a poll in Le Soleil had some good and some worrisome news for Marchand and his bid for a second term. The survey by the SOM firm found 51 per cent of respondents were satisfied with his work as mayor, the highest level in two years and a major uptick since a low of 36 per cent two years ago.

However, in a somewhat counterintuitive finding, 50 per cent of those polled felt it was time for a change at City Hall. The poll also found Marchand’s approval rating is less positive in the suburbs, particularly in Charlesbourg, Beauport and La Haute-Saint-Charles.

In the 2021 election, QFF won four of its six seats in downtown districts.

It was not by coincidence, then, that Marchand officially launched his campaign Sept. 19 at a historic site in Charlesbourg.

“We’ve achieved a lot in four years, and there’s still a lot to do. There’s momentum in Quebec City, and we want it to continue. We’re not going to take anything for granted,” Marchand said.

In 2021, Marchand beat Marie-Josée Savard, the inheritor of former mayor Régis Labeaume’s party which later became Québec d’Abord, by 834 votes.

With files from QCT staff

And they’re off! City Hall campaign begins with feud between Hamad and Villeneuve Read More »

TRAM TRACKER: Laurier contract bargain, Hamad wants work pause

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TRAM TRACKER: Laurier contract bargain, Hamad wants work pause

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

While mayoral candidate Sam Hamad is calling for work on the tramway to be halted during the municipal election, the city has awarded the second largest contract of the project – which came in well below the estimated cost.

On Sept. 17, the city executive committee approved a contract of $63.2 million, taxes included, to Charles-Auguste Fortier Inc. for, as it’s described in the call for tenders, “the redevelopment of Boul. Laurier, for the transitional state before the installation of the tramway.”

It is the second largest contract awarded so far for the TramCité project, the largest by far being the $1.3- billion deal with transportation giant Alstom for supply and maintenance of the system’s rolling stock. The 34 all- electric “trainsets” would be manufactured at Alstom’s plant in La Pocatière. The maintenance contract is for a 30-year period.

Four companies were bidding for the Laurier project, with the highest being $91.7 million, a figure still lower than the $95 million (before taxes) the city had projected.

The winning bid is more than 40 per cent below that target. Charles-Auguste Fortier Inc. has been in business for more than 50 years, and among the company’s notable endeavours is the excavation for the Vidéotron Centre.

The city is responsible for the majority of the preparatory work for the tramway system. The rest is handled by the Caisse de dépôt et placement Infra division (CDPQ Infra), which the Coalition Avenir Québec government tasked with over- seeing the $7.6-billion first phase of the tramway project.

Boul. Laurier has been undergoing major construction work for the past four years; partly for the tramway and partly for a huge project to rearrange the approaches to the Quebec and Pierre Laporte bridges. The new contract would extend the work on the street for about another four years.

Meanwhile, tramway opponent and mayoral candidate Hamad is asking that work on the project be frozen during the municipal election campaign that officially started Sept. 19.

Hamad, founder of Leadership Québec and a former provincial Liberal cabinet minister, said in a media encounter outside City Hall before the Sept. 16 council meeting, “I’m asking [Mayor] Bruno Marchand to stop all current or future work until the election on Nov. 2.”

Hamad quickly clarified his comment, saying work currently in progress should continue, since stopping would “involve penalties and problems.” He said the city should “stop adding to [the work], because we must let the citizens decide.”

When reporters reminded Hamad that the Quebec government is committed to the tramway project, he said, “It doesn’t matter. The mayor of Quebec City will decide what’s best for Quebec City. The mayor of Quebec City will be elected on November 2. It will be the will of the citizens of Quebec.”

Marchand quickly rejected Hamad’s suggestion. He told reporters, “We won’t stop the tramway. We have an agreement with the ministry of transportation. We have a partner called CDPQ Infra that is doing the work. We have an agreement to do preparatory work ourselves. We will face penalties if we don’t do it on time.”

Newly named Transport Minister Jonatan Julien echoed the mayor’s comments. He told a media scrum before a Sept. 17 cabinet meeting that it was “out of the question” to pause tramway work, warning there would be penalties.

“The tramway, we committed to doing it. Right now, we are doing it with CDPQ Infra, and it is moving forward.”

Hamad is proposing an upgraded bus system as an alternative to the tramway.

TRAM TRACKER: Laurier contract bargain, Hamad wants work pause Read More »

BRIEF: Second phase of Rue St-Olivier redo underway

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BRIEF: Second phase of Rue St-Olivier redo underway

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

A narrow street in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighbour- hood has been ripped up for major roadwork, as part of a two-phase project to make it more passable.

Rue Saint-Oliver between Rues Sutherland and Philippe- Dorval is undergoing an intense makeover to provide better access for residents, cyclists and buses.

The first phase of the transformation, completed last year, was between Ave. de Salaberry and Rue Philippe-Dorval.

The project, with the objective of providing a “barrier-free zone,” involves adding trees, moving utility poles and maintaining street parking for residents.

The work began in May and is expected to be completed next summer.

BRIEF: Second phase of Rue St-Olivier redo underway Read More »

QG Vieux-Québec grocery store complex nearing approval

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QG Vieux-Québec grocery store complex nearing approval

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

A major project that would see a grocery store located within the walls of Old Quebec is a step closer to approval more than seven years after it was first proposed.

The QG Vieux-Québec plan would be built along Côte du Palais, at a site called Îlot Charlevoix, for Rue Charlevoix, which would be the project’s northern border.

The lot, situated behind the former Bank of Montreal build- ing on Rue Saint-Jean, which will be incorporated in the complex, is now vacant. The city had purchased it in 2017 and called for proposals for a mixed development, with the intention of having a grocery store in the Old City.

The city accepted the proposal from Capwood, a local developer which built a complex on Route de l’Église in Ste-Foy called District Gourmet that opened in 2021.

QG Vieux-Québec, as the project is called, would be a five-storey building with 36 condos of different size, with access to a gym, rooftop terrasse and reception room. Underground parking would be included.

The ground floor would have a grocery store and a food court offering, according to the Capwood website, “fresh products from the bakery, pastry shop, butcher shop and cheese shop.”

There would also be “a stables museum, testifying to the region’s rich equine history.”

Capwood director general Denis Epoh laid out the vision of the project at a Sept. 8 public consultation session organized by the city, which was represented by Cap-aux-Diamants Coun. Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc and other city officials.

At the session, according to media reports, several local restaurateurs questioned the amount of space allocated in the first floor retail area for dining customers compared to the actual grocery section.

Arnaud Marchand, co-owner of Chez Boulay, a high-end restaurant around the corner from the proposed project, told Le Soleil, “The plans show a much more defined restaurant area than the grocery store. The grocery store’s footprint even includes elevators and hallways. The counters integrate the food service area. We’ll end up with 75 per cent of the area devoted to the food service wing.”

In the details of the city’s presentation of the project, it says “on the ground floor, the floor area occupied by the grocery store (main use) must be greater than that occupied by the restaurant (associated use).”

Capwood’s Epoh said, “I understand the neighbourhood’s expectations. I’ve had a lot of hassle, I could have given up. I’ve already invested $15 million and I’m building an attraction.” The overall project cost is estimated at some $80 million.

The neighbourhood council for the Old City, members of which attended the public consultation, stated in a resolution it supported the project because “the current offering of grocery services or food counters in Old Quebec is almost non-existent and that the quality of life of residents and the tourist experience of visitors are affected.”

However, it tacked on a condition of its support, saying the food counter component of the grocery area should not offer table service or have a liquor licence. The recommendation could be problematic in that restaurant licences normally include table service and permission to sell alcohol.

Coulombe-Leduc said the La Cité-Limoilou borough council would debate the issue but no decision would be made before the municipal elections on Nov. 2.

In the meantime, the city is expected to approve by early October a series of zoning regulation changes to make way for the project. Once that’s done, construction would take three years for occupation in 2028.

QG Vieux-Québec grocery store complex nearing approval Read More »

Hamad adds former mayoral hopeful Hamad to team

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Hamad adds former mayoral hopeful Moisan to team

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Sam Hamad’s campaign has one more candidate and the mayoral race has one less, with Leadership Québec adding Daniel Moisan to the team as its standard-bearer in the Montcalm–Saint-Sacrément district.

Moisan is described on the Leadership Québec website as “a marketing entrepreneur and multidisciplinary artist who has worked in business and culture for over 35 years.” He will face incumbent Coun. Catherine Vallières-Roland, who won the seat for Bruno Marchand’s Québec Forte et Fière (QFF) by a 16-point margin.

Moisan had entered the race for mayor in June, declaring on social media: “Politicians see themselves as people who rule, much more than people who serve the citizens.”

He appears to be opposed to the tramway project, saying it “won’t solve traffic.”

“My big dream,” he said, “if there’s one project I care about, would be for public transit to cost users $1 a day.”

Hamad, a former provincial Liberal cabinet minister and MNA for Louis-Hébert, added two more candidates in recent days, but as of this writing, Leadership Québec still lacks four to complete a slate for the 21 council seats.

The other recruits are Hugo Langlois in Vanier-Duberger (an open seat with the exit of Alicia Despins of Québec d’Abord), and Vicky Lépine, running in Cap-aux-Diamants against QFF incumbent Coun. Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc, a member of Marchand’s executive committee.

Langlois is a well-known media personality and son of former Beauport mayor and Quebec City councillor Jacques Langlois. He came a respectable second in the April federal election, running for the Conservatives in Beauport- Limoilou.

Lépine is a founding member of the Mouvement Saint-Jean Baptiste and a member of her neighbourhood council. Her party bio says she “has more than 20 years of experience in human resources management and public administration.”

She was involved in a controversial incident at a February city council meeting; when making a long preamble to a question, she raised her arm repeatedly in a gesture that Marchand called a “Nazi salute.” He subsequently withdrew the comment and apologized to Lépine.

As of this writing, of the seven parties running for Quebec City Hall registered with Elections Quebec, only QFF and Transition Québec have fielded a full slate of candidates.

The municipal election campaign across Quebec officially kicks off Sept. 19.

Hamad adds former mayoral hopeful Hamad to team Read More »

Villeneuve launches campaign; ‘Happy to be underdog’

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Villeneuve launches campaign; ‘Happy to be underdog’

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Although he doesn’t have all of his candidates yet and the official start of the municipal election season is still two weeks away, Québec d’Abord Leader Claude Villeneuve launched his City Hall campaign Sept. 4.

“Why not?” he said. when asked by reporters. “I’m ready.” His launch, held on the sunny terrasse of a brewpub in Montcalm, included the unveiling of a detailed platform of policies to be put into place over a three-term period, ending in 2037.
Under the tagline “Près de vous” (“Close to you”), Villeneuve explained the platform has three principles: “Simplify services to make them more accessible, bring people together behind major projects, and invest in the future to improve everyday life today.”

Some of the major planks: Abolish the “welcome tax” for the purchase of a first home, create a major sports centre in Parc Victoria, reduce the vehicle registration tax to $30 from $60, build 60,000 new housing units by 2037, and create a major event in partnership with Wendake to mark the 500th anniversary of French explorer Jacques Cartier’s visit to Quebec in 1535.

With polls showing him far behind incumbent Mayor Bruno Marchand of Québec Forte et Fière and Leadership Québec’s Sam Hamad, a former provincial Liberal minister, Villeneuve said he has “a lot of work to do” to make himself known.

Villeneuve leads the rem- nants of the party that ruled Quebec City from 2008 to 2021 under then-mayor Régis Labeaume. The party’s leader in the 2021 election, Marie-Josée Savard, lost the mayoralty to Marchand by 834 votes.

Her party, though, elected 10 councillors and formed the official Opposition. Of those 10 councillors, there are now only two – Villeneuve, in the Maizerets-Lairet district, and Véronique Dallaire in Les Saules-Les Méandres. The others chose not to run again or defected to Marchand’s party.

Québec d’Abord, as of this writing, has recruited only 10 of the 21 candidates for a full slate. Villeneuve hinted at the press conference there were even some candidates yet to be announced in the room.

Villeneuve said, “I think I’m the second choice of many people, if not most people in the city” and that he doesn’t “have much further to go to become the first choice.”

He said he’s been talking to people who think Marchand “does not deserve a second mandate” and that Hamad “is not a serious candidate.”

Asked in English how it feels to be the underdog in the mayoral race, Villeneuve said, “I like to be the underdog. It’s a good story to tell.”

He said, “I’m ready to be mayor. I’m pretty confident, but it will be tough, and it should be tough to become mayor of Quebec. You have to earn it.”

According to his Québec d’Abord bio, prior to becoming a city councillor in 2021, Villeneuve “served as an adviser and speechwriter to Premier Pauline Marois. He then made a name for himself in Quebec City’s media landscape as a columnist for the Journal de Québec.”

Villeneuve also founded Limoilou-based AV3 – Collaboratoire, a shared workspace that supports local startups.

Originally from Métabetchouan, in Lac-Saint-Jean, Villeneuve came to Quebec City in 2002 to study law and economics.

Villeneuve launches campaign; ‘Happy to be underdog’ Read More »

Former Salvation Army shelter to be multi-service centre

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Former Salvation Army shelter to be multi-service centre

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The former Salvation Army building in Old Quebec that for nearly 60 years provided shelter for homeless men and women is being upgraded as an “innovative” service centre for the same clientele.

Announced earlier in the year, the projected “multi- service centre for the most vulnerable population” is the work of the CIUSSS (Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux) for the Capitale-Nationale region.

The CIUSSS acquired the building at 14 Côte du Palais in 2020, and after several delays, work began a few weeks ago to gut the building and transform it into a modern facility providing a range of in-house services.

Those services include a street drop-in centre, a laundry room, addiction services, a homelessness liaison team, a withdrawal management unit with accommodations, and 30 beds supervised by CIUSSS staff.

At the time of the announcement of the project go-ahead in January, Marie-Josée Collard of the mental health and addiction programs department of the CIUSSS, said, “The idea is really to attract this clientele to offer them services, because they don’t want to go to hospitals. So, by being more welcoming, more adapted to them, we hope that our workers will be able to reach out to them and help them get through it.”

A CIUSSS spokesperson declined a request for an interview on the project, saying, “Work is continuing and we should be able to provide more information on the completion of the project by the end of autumn.”

Some services at the facility will be offered in partnership with existing community organizations, such as La Maison de Job, which will collaborate on the drop-in centre’s operations.

When the Salvation Army decided to close its Old Quebec shelter five years ago, some of its homeless housing services were transferred to the nearby Maison Mère-Mallet facility.

According to information from the CIUSSS, the building’s four floors will be divided into different functions. The second floor will house a detoxification unit with 18 residential beds, as well as a living area with a small kitchen, a dining room and a lounge.

The third floor will have 12 beds for short stays and will include a large room where conferences, group therapy sessions and meetings can be held.

The presence of a centre for homeless people and people with substance abuse issues in a prime location in Old Quebec, adjacent to a luxury hotel, has raised some concerns.

Daniel Riverain, an administrator of the Vieux-Québec neighbourhood council, said in an earlier report in Le Soleil, “I’m delighted to see that there is an intensification of homelessness services in our neighbourhood; it was becoming imperative.”

But, he said, “I’m worried about the sidewalk in front of this establishment; there are many tourists who pass by with their suitcases,” suggesting a smoking area should be created away from crowds in the street.

Frédéric Keck, assistant director for homelessness and partnerships at the CIUSSS, responded in the same report, saying the Salvation Army, at the time, housed about a hundred residents “and we, at full capacity, will have 30 residents.”

The neighbourhood council did not reply to a request for an interview.

The building, designed by F.A. Walker and built of cut stone, was, according to the city’s architecture directory, one of the first “to incorporate architecture compatible with the historic character of the site” under new rules put in place by heritage officials.

A plaque on the structure says: “This plaque commemorates the dedication to the glory of God of this building by Commissioner W. Booth, LLD. May 14, 1959.”

Booth was Wycliffe Booth, grandson of Salvation Army founder William Booth, and no stranger to Canada. A Salvation Army biography notes that “as a young officer, Commissioner Booth accompanied his father Bramwell Booth during one of his memorable visits to Canada.”

Former Salvation Army shelter to be multi-service centre Read More »

Government submits third link project to environmental review

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

Government submits third link project to environmental review

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The Coalition Avenir Québec government is forging ahead with its plan to build a third link between Quebec City and Lévis.

Last week, Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault, the minister leading the project, announced the plan for a combination bridge and tunnel would be submitted for environmental analysis.

“This new step,” an Aug. 28 news release stated, “is a prerequisite for the impact study, the environmental analysis by the ministry of the environment, the fight against climate change, wildlife and parks (MELCCFP) as well as the work of the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE).”

Guilbault added, “This procedure, which is crucial for the realization of the third link between Quebec City and Lévis, confirms that the project is progressing in a concrete, efficient, and responsible manner.”

In June, Guilbault announced the choice of a corridor for the third link, with the bridge connecting Autoroute 20 on the South Shore with Autoroute 40 on the North Shore. It would enter a tunnel somewhere along Boul. Champlain and emerge some three kilometres later to connect with either Boul. Pierre-Bertrand or Autoroute Robert-Bourassa.

As part of the environmental assessment process, there will be a 30-day online public consultation period organized by the environment ministry.

The ministry release said, “The various analyses carried out as part of the impact study will enable the ministry to optimize the project design to limit the impact on the environment and ensure bet- ter integration of the new inter-shore link into its host environment.”

In the wake of Guilbault’s announcement, the question arose about how much farther Guilbault herself will be pushing the third link process. As of this writing, there were reports Premier François Legault would be removing Guilbault, the MNA for the Louis-Hébert riding, as transport minister in an expected major cabinet shuffle.

Meanwhile, an intense program of drilling and soil testing is underway to provide data to determine which route the third link corridor would take on the north and south shores.

According to a report in the Journal de Québec, drilling has already been done in some 100 sites between Lévis and Quebec City with more in the works. The report said the government has already spent at least $33 million on the drilling program, not including the 50 sites being drilled this summer.

Government submits third link project to environmental review Read More »

New residential building to rise near Saint-Roch overpass

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New residential building to rise near Saint-Roch overpass

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

In a reversal of Joni Mitchell’s ode to paving a paradise to put in a parking lot, developers are planning an eco-friendly residential building in what is now a parking lot in Saint-Roch – with a freeway overpass looming over it.

The city is expected to soon approve the permits for a six- storey apartment building, to be called Le Arno, built by Logis-Experts, one of the city’s busiest residential developers.

Jean-François Beaudoin, head of development and real estate investment for Logis- Experts, said in an interview with the QCT the project is unusual – flyé was the word he used in French – in several respects.

The first, and perhaps most obvious, is the location of the proposed $25-million building in a seemingly forlorn spot a few steps from Boul. Charest now used as a parking lot. The site is bordered by Rue des Prairies and Rue de l’Éperon, and for those familiar with the area, it’s around the corner from Comptoir Emmaüs.

Beaudoin said another unusual feature would be the building’s U-shape. The courtyard within the U would be planted with mature trees and vegetation to mitigate the impact of apartments facing each other.

As for the unusual aspect of a new residential building having a busy freeway ramp adjacent, Beaudoin said the block would be built so that no apartment windows would face the structure. “No one will be living under the overpass,” he said.

Building a large structure in a dense urban space is not an obstacle to construction, Beaudoin said. His company has dealt with such constraints in its other projects in the central city.

Beaudoin said the 93 apartments would be mostly smaller units targeted at young professionals who work in the area, citing the example of the Palais de Justice building just around the corner. The building bridges Saint-Roch with the Old City along Rue Saint-Paul with its many restaurants and other businesses.

There will be a handful of larger apartments for families, and a certain number of affordable housing units depending on an agreement to be negotiated with the city.

Beaudoin said his company would not be investing in the Le Arno project and a few others in the area yet to be announced if it didn’t have confidence in the Saint-Roch district. The area has been in the news in recent months with reports of businesses fleeing because of the deterioration of Rue Saint-Joseph and safety concerns in the area.

Before construction can begin, likely in early winter, the soil will be decontaminated, and an archeological dig needs to be conducted on the site, which falls within the limits of the designated historical zone and has been occupied since the early years of Quebec City.

In fact, one of the conditions the city imposed on the proposed building is that it not encroach on what’s known as the Maison Blanche, on Rue Saint-Vallier. The house, built in 1679, was originally on the large property of Louis Hébert, a legendary figure in Quebec history.

New residential building to rise near Saint-Roch overpass Read More »

BRIEF: Work begins on addition to Grande Allée tower

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Work begins on addition to Grande Allée tower Work is already underway to add 10 storeys to the apartment building at 153-155 Grande Allée Est. Last week, a crew was erecting a towering crane in front of the building that will be used during the construction period. The owners of the building, Bilodeau Immobilier, had built the current 11-storey building, which opened in 2020, with an eventual addition in mind. The company also owns the Montmorency building behind the Grande Allée tower on Ave. Wilfrid-Laurier. Company general manager Éric Bilodeau previously told the QCT the impact of construction on building residents will be limited by a series of measures (see article in June 11, 2025 edition). (PB-LJI)

BRIEF: Work begins on addition to Grande Allée tower Read More »

Smith unveils full slate, gets booted from council

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Smith unveils full slate, gets booted from council

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

A day after Transition Québec Leader and Limoilou Coun. Jackie Smith unveiled a full roster of candidates for City Hall, she was expelled from a city council meeting for breaching rules of conduct.

Nearly four years after her run for mayor as the head of an avowedly left-wing party, Smith’s feisty approach has earned her an eager following and, seemingly, the enmity of some fellow councillors.

On Aug. 25, Smith convened the media in Jardin Jean-Paul-L’Allier in Saint-Roch to announce her party had recruited candidates for all 21 districts, including many who decided to run for a second time under Smith’s leadership.

In introducing the candidates, she said, “We have assembled a strong, bold, dynamic team rooted in its community. The team has been on the ground for several weeks and the party’s funding is breaking a historic record. This demonstrates the enthusiasm for ideas that focus on fairness, solidarity and respect for the environment, and that respond to the challenges of our time.”

The next day, during a city council debate over the city administration’s public consultation program, council speaker Bianca Dussault ordered Smith to leave the chamber.

Smith had refused to withdraw an accusation that Cap- aux-Diamants Coun. Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc, member of the executive committee responsible for heritage, urban planning and tourism, was biased due to a job she had as a lobbyist prior to becoming a city councillor.

Coulombe-Leduc said, “I want her to withdraw the comments she just made, which have nothing to do with my role as a municipal councillor. If she wants me to dig into her past, I will do it.”

Dussault, describing Smith’s comments as “a rather personal attack,” ordered her to leave the meeting, which she did peaceably.

The council meeting was the second last before the official municipal election period starts on Sept. 17, leading to voting on Nov. 2. It’s an election Smith hopes will bring her, if not the mayor’s office, at least a larger contingent than her solo seat in Limoilou.

Smith said that “everything is different” from the last time around in 2021. “Recruitment is just so much easier. The fact that people know me, they know what we do … I’m a woman of action, and accessible, and people sort of feel close to me, feel like they can tell me their issues and I can help them.”

She said, “The four years of experience have been huge” and she’s learned “a lot more about how the system and the political dynamics work.” Plus, she said, the party has made “many gains” over that time in targeting issues and moving the administration forward on such matters as shelter for homeless people, protected bicycle paths and measures for parents at City Hall.

She said she has been effective despite being the lone Transition Québec councillor. “I have an idea and a lot of people say, well, no, it’s not possible. But in my four years, it almost always starts like that. I go in the media, I propose something publicly and then [Mayor] Bruno Marchand says immediately, ‘That’s impossible. You’re crazy.’ And then six months to a year later, it exists.”

In that vein, at the news conference to announce candidates, she denounced the Sept. 5 deadline for voters to change their address online. “The complexity of the process for changing addresses discourages young people from voting. It’s a structural obstacle that could be easily resolved.”

Smith is also calling for public transportation to be free on election day, as is the case in Lévis. “Voting should be simple and accessible for everyone. Free transportation on election day is a concrete measure to achieve this, and one that has already proven effective.”

As for her mayoral prospects in a field of at least four other credible candidates, Smith said she feels she has a “real chance” this time around; she finished fourth in 2021, with 12,000 votes, 6.6 per cent of the total.

She had initially been concerned about the impact of former provincial Liberal minister Sam Hamad, “because he’s a big name,” but said he has not lived up to billing, having failed to recruit a full slate of candidates only a couple of weeks before the campaign starts.

Smith, the mother of two young children, is a native of Hamilton, Ont., and has lived in Quebec City since 2006. She has several links to the English-speaking community, including with the Quebec Art Company and the Morrin Centre, where she is currently a member of the governing council.

Smith unveils full slate, gets booted from council Read More »

Royal Bank office building in Old Quebec to go residential

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Royal Bank office building in Old Quebec to go residential

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Built at a time when modern architecture began to invade the Old City in the name of urban renewal, the Royal Bank office tower in Place D’Youville is destined to be transformed into a residential building.

The city has confirmed that the owners of 700 Place D’Youville have plans to convert the 11-storey building into some 115 small apartments.

The impetus for the transformation would appear to be the exodus of the major tenants of the building, including the Royal Bank that built the tower in 1965, gave it its name and was a principal occupant.

The owners of the building, Montreal-based THM Immobilier, confirmed in various media reports the termination of the lease and departure of the offices of the Société québécoise des infrastructures as well as those of the ministry of economy, innovation and energy.

Some 200 Royal Bank employees are expected to relocate to the SAAQ building in Lower Town as of next year, according to a company spokesperson quoted in one report.

Coun. Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc, who represents the downtown Cap-aux-Diamants district, welcomed the news of the coming residential units in a Facebook post.

She applauded the “structural measures” that reflect the city’s push to make housing a priority. The current administration has set a goal of increasing the residential population in the Old City.

She said, “Converting vacant office space into housing is one of the keys to revitalizing and making life in our central neighbourhoods more accessible, and Old Quebec is no exception.

“We are already well positioned to exceed our goal of bringing 500 new residents to Old Quebec with the numerous housing projects underway in the area,” Coulombe-Leduc said.

THM Immobilier spokesperson David Benatar told Radio- Canada, “The project is moving forward, but it’s not yet finalized. We’re accelerating the process to start work as soon as they [the current tenants] leave. We’re estimating costs to see if it will be profitable.”

He said it’s still possible there will be office space available in the building. “Let’s just say there might be room to keep one or two floors of offices. The demand for offices is decreasing; there’s always some, but not enough to occupy the entire building.”

The conversion of the Royal Bank building would not be the first such transformation the company has undertaken. Le Kozi apartment complex at 1005 Chemin Ste-Foy housed the offices of the provincial health and social services ministry before being transformed into 107 rental units.

The QCT was not able to get in contact with Benatar or any other representative of THM Immobilier.

Despite its incongruous lo- cation just outside the walls of the Old City and its modern architecture, the Royal Bank building is considered of heritage value.

The citation on the city’s website says: “Considering the resolutely modern language of the Royal Bank building in the Place D’Youville sector, its excellent formal and material authenticity, the presence of the work of art by Paul Lacroix in the lobby of the building as well as the national and international renown of the architect Fred A. Dawson, the architectural and artistic interest is superior.”

Construction of the building began in 1965, in the immediate wake of the city’s demarcation of the limits of the Old City and establishment of zoning regulations.

The building, the city directory says, is “a witness to its period of construction” and to “the renewal sweeping through the national capital with the development of Parliament Hill, Ave. Honoré-Mercier and the Autoroute Dufferin-Montmorency.”

The building now appears to be part of a new trend to convert office buildings into residential housing.

Royal Bank office building in Old Quebec to go residential Read More »

Quebec first city in Canada to use AI tech to sync traffic lights

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Quebec first city in Canada to use AI tech to sync traffic lights

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Acity pilot project using artificial intelligence to reduce traffic jams, the first of its kind in Canada, is already proving its worth, officials say.

The city released results of the program at a news conference on Aug. 20, indicating the Green Light technology, provided free by Google, “helps reduce frequent stop-and-go traffic and polluting emissions.

“Since its launch, the Green Light project has demonstrated the potential to reduce frequent stop-and-go traffic by up to 30 per cent and estimated CO2 emissions at urban inter- sections by 10 per cent.”

The system analyzes driving trends from Google Maps and AI to map traffic patterns to suggest adjustments to engineers who can then make the changes. Green Light has been deployed in 11 intersections throughout the city.

In a release, Mayor Bruno Marchand said Quebec City “is one of the most advanced cities in North America when it comes to smart mobility. It’s therefore only natural that it’s the first Canadian municipality to partner with Google.”

He said, “An innovative project like Green Light allows us to concretely optimize our road network, making travel more fluid and efficient.”

The city cited the example of one notoriously congested intersection as an example of the effectiveness of Green Light. The area is where Ave. Saint-Sacrement meets Boul. Charest, and then crosses Rue Semple/Rue Borne two blocks north.

The city study observed, “During late-afternoon rush hour, the traffic lights were slightly out of sync, causing delays for motorists travelling down Ave. Saint-Sacrement, leading to increased traffic jams and delays.”

Using the Green Light technology, “Google proposed reducing the time lag between the lights by 15 seconds to align the crossing with those at Semple and Charest. Northbound travel, the most frequent in this area according to 2023 data, is now smoother and better co-ordinated.”

Laurence Therrien, public affairs manager at Google Canada, said, “Through the Green Light project, we are using AI to reduce traffic congestion and emissions in the city. We are delighted to offer this free tool to Quebec City, making it the first Canadian city to adopt Green Light.”

The city says it will implement the Green Light project at other intersections in the city with problematic traffic congestion. “By continuing to expand the Green Light project, Quebec City is acting as a leader for other Canadian municipalities.”

Quebec City is one of only 19 cities in the world selected by Google for the Green Light program.

Quebec first city in Canada to use AI tech to sync traffic lights Read More »

Ave. Cartier’s famous Provisions Inc. to reopen under new owners

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Ave. Cartier’s famous Provisions Inc. to reopen under new owners

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

There may be “beaucoup de pain sur la planche” (lots of work to do), but one of the new owners of the shuttered Provisions Inc. grocery on Ave. Cartier is hopeful the beloved store will reopen before the Christmas holidays.

Philippe Fontaine, owner of the Intermarché supermarket on Rue Saint-Vallier, last week took possession of the grocery with the familiar neon sign, along with partners Jean-François Girard and Johanne Fer- land, owners of the Michelin- rated restaurant L’Échaudé in the Old City.

Fontaine told the QCT that a key to the venture was the enthusiastic participation of Bruno Drouin, a former co- owner of Provisions whose fam- ily had operated the grocery for more than 70 years.

The Drouin family’s attempt to sell the business in 2022 went awry when the French couple who bought it ran into financial trouble, closed the store and fled the country in January 2024. A real estate promoter bought the building later that year and set about looking for a new owner.

Fontaine said having Drouin involved “gave me the confidence to get the project started on a good footing.” He said he and his partners have inspected the grocery equipment – un- touched for nearly 20 months – to determine what needs to be done to bring the store back to a functional condition.

“We have to take it step by step, but we would like to be ready for the holiday season,” Fontaine said.

While many of the familiar features of the grocery, including its fabled meat counter, will be restored, Fontaine said a new feature will be take-out offerings from Girard, who is the head chef as well as co-owner of L’Échaudé. Customers can also expect the return of the popular local produce market in front of the store next summer.

For Fontaine, the acquisition of the legendary local grocery is the latest step in a career that’s seen him go from “policier to épicier.” He said he became familiar with Provisions Inc. as a city police officer when the streets of Montcalm were part of his beat.

Three years ago, he took over the Intermarché store on Saint- Vallier from his father-in-law, who ran it for many years. He recalls having discussions with his father-in-law about Provisions Inc., but never imagined one day he would become the owner. “I adore what I do, so I am very satisfied” with the new adventure of reopening an old grocery institution, he concluded.

Ave. Cartier’s famous Provisions Inc. to reopen under new owners Read More »

Équipe Priorité Québec eliminated in City Council musical chairs

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Équipe Priorité Québec eliminated in City Council musical chairs

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

With the launch of the municipal election campaign just around the corner, there’s been another round of musical chairs involving familiar city councillors.

The two remaining councillors of Équipe Priorité Québec have jumped ship, each to a different party, effectively putting an end to the formation formerly known as Québec 21.

Stevens Melançon, the current leader of EPQ and councillor for the Chute-Montmorency– Seigneurial district, switched allegiances to Leadership Québec, the new party founded by mayoral candidate, former provincial Liberal cabinet minister and MNA for Louis-Hébert Sam Hamad.

Hamad and Melançon appeared together at an Aug. 13 media event at Golf Beauport to announce the joining of forces. Melançon’s move had been the subject of rumours ever since Hamad made it known he was considering a run for the mayor’s office last year.

Hamad said in a statement: “The arrival of Stevens and his team at Leadership Québec marks an important step in building a strong team, attentive to local communities and capable of delivering concrete results. Their pragmatic and respectful approach aligns perfectly with ours.”

For his part, Melançon, a councillor since the 2017 election, said, “By joining forces with Leadership Québec, our party has chosen to contribute to a broader, unifying movement rooted in the concrete concerns of citizens. We share common values: proximity to citizens, pragmatism and a desire to deliver results. Under the leadership of Sam Hamad, a man who listens, works on the ground, and delivers results, we will have the means to achieve more.”

Not all the EPQ “team” is joining with Hamad. Eric Ralph Mercier, a former leader of the party, may be joining another upstart party, Respect Citoyens. Although Mercier was on vaca- tion and could not be reached for comment, party leader Stephane Lachance confirmed in an interview with the QCT that Mercier would be running for Respect Citoyens in the des Monts district of Charlesbourg he has represented since 2021.

Mercier, son of longtime Charlesbourg mayor Ralph Mercier and a former Liberal MNA, was more cryptic in a statement issued last week. “It is with regret that I have decided to leave Équipe Priorité Québec in order to pursue my political commitment with a view to running again in the next election. I remain committed to serving the citizens of my district with integrity and conviction.”

Lachance, however, said Mercier would be making an announcement about joining Respect Citoyens soon, and the delay is out of consideration for the staff who work for ÉPQ, the second opposition party at City Hall.

Lachance, who owns a Lévis- based event organization business, is a former candidate for the Quebec Conservative Party in the riding of La Peltrie, which includes Shannon. He said Mercier shares the values of Respect Citoyens, particularly regarding the city’s finances.

Lachance is also strongly opposed to the city’s tramway project. “Our major project is to make the [Réseau de transport de la capitale] efficient and also that the people of Quebec will appreciate the service.

“This organization already has major problems,” Lachance said, without taking on a tramway system or rapid bus (SRB) network as proposed by Hamad.

Should Mercier run for Respect Citoyens, that would make 16 candidates already committed to running for the party.

It is not known whether Mercier will sit as an independent until the end of his term. If he does, ÉPQ will vanish from City Hall. The party, then called Québec 21 under leader and mayoral candidate Jean-François Gosselin, elected four councillors in 2021.

Gosselin, a strong opponent of the city’s tramway plan, joined the ruling party as an associate executive committee member responsible for sports and recreation. He is not running again.

The fourth Quebec 21 councillor, Bianca Dussault (Val-Bélair), joined Mayor Bruno Marchand’s Québec Forte et Fière (QFF) party at the same time and is running under that party’s banner.

The addition of Melançon brings the total number of Leadership Québec candidates to nine, including two recruits from Quebec d’abord, the successor to former mayor Régis Labeaume’s machine that ruled the city from 2009 until the 2021 election.

Isabelle Roy, councillor for the Beauport district of Robert-Giffard, and Louis Martin, who represents Cap-Rouge–Laurentien, jumped to Hamad’s party in the spring.

Québec d’abord is now down to only one incumbent councillor, besides party leader Claude Villeneuve. Patricia Boudreault- Bruyère, councillor for Neufchâtel-Lebourgneuf, announced last week she would not seek another term.

The sole incumbent running again for Québec d’abord is Véronique Dallaire in the Les Saules–Les Méandres district.

The party has found candidates for only three districts besides the Maizerets-Lairet district Villeneuve won in 2021.

As for QFF, it has candidates in all 21 districts, including seven incumbents. Mayor Bruno Marchand has said he will run in a district with a colistier or running mate. He has not said which district that would be, since all now have candidates for QFF.

In 2021, he ran in the Montcalm–Saint-Sacrement district, which the party won. Running mate Catherine Vallières-Roland became the councillor for the seat since Marchand had won the race for mayor.

Municipal elections take place all across Quebec on Nov. 2.

Équipe Priorité Québec eliminated in City Council musical chairs Read More »

Simons takes Toronto with stores in two iconic malls

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Simons takes Toronto with stores in two iconic malls

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Wen the Simons dry goods store first opened its doors in Old Quebec in 1840, the city was the most populous in Canada.

Last week, that same family-owned retailer opened a new store in central Toronto, currently by far Canada’s largest city. The company with the iconic green leaf branding snipped the ribbon on a distinctive two-storey, 118,000-square-foot space at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, one of the country’s oldest and best-known malls.

What’s more, later this fall, Simons will open a new store in the Eaton Centre, in the heart of the bustling downtown of the Queen City, marking a combined investment of some $100 million and generator of 400 jobs.

The Yorkdale store is the 18th outlet for Simons and its third store in Ontario, following outlets in downtown Ottawa’s Rideau Centre and suburban Mississauga’s Square One mall.

Already established in Vancouver, the company became a coast-to-coast retailer last year when it opened a store in the Halifax Shopping Centre.

As is the case with all Simons stores, the design combines fashion with art. In a news release, Simons CEO Bernard Leblanc said, “Our Yorkdale store reflects our commitment to creativity, design, esteemed service, purpose, community and connection. Because, at Simons, we believe our spaces are more than just places to shop – they are places to dis- cover, to be inspired, and to engage with fashion, Canadian art and design.”

The Yorkdale store features a large ceiling mural called Ciel by French artist Nelio, as well as a solarium and a “walk of frames” showcasing 40 works from 24 artists, most of them Canadian.

Leblanc, a longtime Simons executive, took over as boss of Simons in 2022 when president and CEO Peter Simons stepped down to become chief merchant. He and his brother Richard are the largest shareholders of Simons, Canada’s oldest privately owned business.

The timing of the assault on the downtown Toronto market was fortuitous for Simons, in what might be said to be an unfortunate way, with the demise of The Bay stores, Simons’ main competitor.

In a Canadian Press report on the Yorkdale opening, Leblanc said, “I’m saddened by the fact that such a historical Canadian icon has left the market. As a retailer, we like to have a very buoyant and dynamic retail industry, so having somebody exit is always a little bit of a shock to the industry.”

That said, Leblanc expects the new Toronto stores to increase company annual sales by 15 per cent, to $650 million.

In perhaps another sign of the times, Simons is setting up shop in spaces in both the Yorkdale and Eaton Centre vacated two years ago by U.S. department store giant Nordstrom.

Simons takes Toronto with stores in two iconic malls Read More »

Lower Town roadwork to complicate traffic

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Lower Town roadwork to complicate traffic

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The city is inviting people wanting to come and go from Lower Town in the coming weeks to “plan their travel” due to a series of major traffic disruptions caused by roadwork and tramway preparation.

In a communiqué Aug. 7, the city announced details and the schedule for work to take place on major arteries such as Boul. Charest, Rue Marie-de-l’Incarnation, Rue Saint-Vallier Ouest and Rue de la Couronne, as well as Rue des Vaisseaux-du-Roi. The latter is the site of the Place Namur redevelopment project in the Old City (see story in Aug. 6 edition).

Preparation work for the tramway project is also planned, with “geotechnical drilling” to be carried out between Aug. 14 and 21 in the Côte d’Abraham area as well as on Rue de la Couronne and Rue Victor-Révillon.

The city said it encourages citizens to “plan their trips properly” by leaving early, using navigation aids like GPS and “opting for public or active transportation,” meaning walking, biking or other non-motorized ways of getting around.

Full information on all the city’s roadwork is available on the city’s website under the tab “Travaux dans les rues.” The city’s 311 information line is also available to answer questions about roadwork.

Lower Town roadwork to complicate traffic Read More »

St. Lawrence boss Berryman ‘optimistic’ on eve of new term

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St. Lawrence boss Berryman ‘optimistic’ on eve of new term

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Despite strict language guidelines and a student population cap, CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence boss Edward Berryman said he is “very optimistic” about the future of Quebec City’s only English junior college as a new session is set to begin.

Berryman, whose official title is director of the constituent college and director of studies, told the QCT in an interview that one immediate challenge is, faced with an excess of applicants, getting student numbers down to the government-allowed limit within the deadline.

He said St. Lawrence is not at risk of incurring a fine on the scale of the nearly $30 million the Ministry of Education slapped on Montreal’s LaSalle College for enrolling more than 1,000 too many students in its English-language programs.

“We’re under Law 14 [for- merly Bill 96] and there is a maximum of students we are allowed to have, and currently we’re above. So, of course, there’s still time left. The actual official count of the number of full-time students is done after the first drop [deadline] on Sept. 19. So, but currently we’re above our cap, and if we stay above, well, there’s a financial penalty and that is pretty steep. So that’s our concern,” Berryman said. “Otherwise, of course, we have all the students we need and there’s no more hirings to be done. So everything is under control on that aspect. We’ll be very ready when classes begin.”

St. Lawrence has a maximum full-time student population of about 960, of whom about 75 per cent are francophones who attended high school in French. About 20 per cent are “certificate-holders” – students with the constitutional right to attend English public elementary or secondary schools – and the rest are allophones, recent immigrants and international students.

Berryman said St. Lawrence has the highest percentage of francophone non-certificate holders of all English CEGEPs in the province, compared, for example, to John Abbott College in Montreal’s West Island with about a 60/40 anglo/franco mix, and Dawson College with about a 50/50 mix.

The new language requirements of Law 14 are also an issue for some students, Berryman said. “I think one of the challenges is the fact that for the anglophone student whose mastery of French is limited, it becomes quite a challenge to get a diploma, because there are now courses in French or of French that a student has to take. So that may pose a challenge for a small number of our students. They didn’t have to deal with that before.”

Berryman said he is pleased with the high success rate of students taking the French exit exam (Épreuve uniforme de français) required to get a diploma. He said the college’s 95 per cent pass rate is 10 per cent higher than the average at francophone CEGEPs.

As the new term nears, Berryman said the college faces no staffing issues. “This year is quite stable. You know, we will cross our fingers but usually on the days prior to the start of the fall semester, there’s always that panic of missing faculty members for different reasons: impossibility to find someone, someone’s decided to take sabbatical or whatever, sick leave. But this fall it looks good. So we’re not looking for any teachers as we speak, but again I’m crossing my fingers. You never know what can happen in one week.”

On the academic front, Berryman noted the launch of a brand new arts, literature and communications program, a “local version … that is more oriented towards creativity and creation, so I think better adapted to the expectations and the needs of our students.”

This term also marks the second year of the revised science program, he said, as well as completing the revision of the business program that will be launched next fall. “So it’s academically very active. It’s been a very active period and still is. In a three-year time span, we will have revised and renewed all our programs. So it’s a very remarkable period in that regard.”

Berryman said, “I’m fundamentally quite optimistic about the future of English colleges, and for St. Lawrence in particular. We can adopt laws, but one thing remains is that there’s a fundamental social need to learn to master English. The open world market, it’s a little bit less open than it was a year ago, but the fundamental need is there. No country is an island anymore, and like it or not, English is an international language and therefore the need is there. When students enrol at St. Lawrence, it’s not a comment on French culture, on Quebec culture, it’s a comment on the usefulness, the functionality of and the advantages that come with knowing to read, write, speak in English, period. I’m therefore very optimistic, despite the ups and downs of political life and worries that can emerge in a society. I’m very confident.”

St. Lawrence boss Berryman ‘optimistic’ on eve of new term Read More »

New English high school ‘great news’ for St. Lawrence: Berryman

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

New English high school ‘great news’ for St. Lawrence: Berryman

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence could be a beneficiary of the new combined English high school, the college’s director of studies has said.

In late July, the Central Québec School Board received the go-ahead from the Quebec ministry of education for the call for tenders to build a $200-million-plus secondary school to replace the aging buildings housing St. Patrick’s High School and Quebec High School (QHS); the high school section of Dollard-des-Ormeaux School in Shannon would also be absorbed into the new school (See article in Aug. 6 edition).

Depending on construction complications or other delays, the new school, to be built on the site of the now abandoned St. Vincent Elementary School on Ave. Wolfe, could welcome students in the fall of 2028.

Edward Berryman, director of the constituent college and director of studies at St. Lawrence, told the QCT, “I think it’s about time that we have a modern facility for our anglophone high school population.”

He said the QHS and St. Pat’s buildings “simply don’t meet the needs of 21st-century education.”

The project to build a new English high school in Quebec City dates back to 2017, when parents’ committee members from the two schools urged the CQSB to push the project forward.

A major motivation for the project was to have a modern English high school able to compete for students with the better-resourced French public and private schools. Students graduating from an English high school get priority for admission to an English CEGEP.

Berryman said, “All those big projects take a while, but we’re looking forward to seeing that school open and welcoming their graduates … I’m sure it’s going to bring a new energy to those students that will be studying there in the years to come.”

New English high school ‘great news’ for St. Lawrence: Berryman Read More »

Historic: New combined English high school gets green light

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Historic: New combined English high school gets green light

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

“For the anglophone population in Quebec, this is historic.”

Jean Robert, chairperson of the council of commissioners for the Central Québec School Board (CQSB), had just received a letter from Education Minister Bernard Drainville, authorizing the board to proceed with a call for tenders to build a brand new English high school to replace the antiquated buildings housing Quebec High School and St. Patrick’s High School.

The letter, dated July 23, is the latest and arguably the most important step in a process dating back to early 2017, when members of parents’ committees for both schools joined forces to push for a new combined school.

While there had been some troubling uncertainty in recent months as to whether the project – although well advanced in the planning and design phases and budgeted at “well over $200 million” – would be approved due to government spending re- strictions, Robert was convinced it would get the green light.

“I mean, it really is unbelievable. A new school in a time when there are budgetary concerns,” Robert said. “But the government believes in the fact that there is a need for a new modern school. It is really remarkable. It’s wonderful.”

He said, “I can only imagine how thrilled some of the future students and teachers and administrators will be.”

The new school, as presented at consultation sessions in fall 2022 with parents and other interested parties, will be a four-storey complex, organized into five learning zones with 40 classrooms, four gyms, eight art classrooms and seven science classrooms. There will also be ample outdoor sports and activity surfaces.

It will be designed to accommodate a maximum of 1,400 students, in anticipation of growing student populations at the two downtown high schools as well as Dollard-des-Ormeaux School in Shannon, whose secondary section would be closed and students transferred to the new facility.

The new school will be built on the site of the now-abandoned St. Vincent Elementary School on Avenue Wolfe, behind the Boul. Laurier commercial strip. It would be in close proximity to the city’s proposed tramway line.

When St. Vincent closed in spring 2024, students were relocated for the fall term to the brand new New Liverpool Elementary School in Lévis or to other CQSB schools on the North Shore.

Robert said according to the architects’ plan, construction could begin on the new building at the same time as the old one is being demolished.

Now that the board has the minister’s approval of the call for tenders, Robert said, “Every- thing is ready. We just have to push the button and the whole procedure starts.” The project will be managed by the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI), which handles major government construction projects.

Although the target date for the opening of the new school is fall 2028, Robert said, “The truth is we’ll only really know about details and so on once we get the results from the tenders,” which could be received and analyzed by September or October of this year.

He said there is likely no issue concerning soil contamination, although it is known the St. Vincent building has asbestos insulation, so demolition will be more methodical and hence more costly.

Once construction actually begins, the expected construction period would be two years. Robert said that although the school building is a relatively large one, it is a standard project and could interest many general contractors. He said the “timing is good” to get such a project off the ground.

A complication to the choice of the St. Vincent site is that it required additional land to accommodate the size of school desired. Three separate transactions involving the federal government, the Ville de Québec and the Centre des services scolaire des Découvreurs needed to be resolved. Part of the deal with the city is an agreement that local residents will have access to school facilities such as gymnasiums and sports fields.

Robert, the former director of CEGEP Champlain-St. Law- rence, who spearheaded the amphitheatre expansion there, drew a comparison with the new high school project. “We’re always kind of shy [about asking for things from the government], but the fact is that the English community deserved a new school and deserves something that we can be proud of and we’re certainly going to be proud of this one.”

Historic: New combined English high school gets green light Read More »

School board reform was spark for new combined English high school

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School board reform was spark for new combined English high school

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The green light for the construction of a new English secondary school from Education Minister Bernard Drainville, to quote Winston Churchill, marks “the end of the beginning” of a journey that dates back nearly 30 years.

Quoting Churchill may be appropriate in that he was British prime minister in 1941, when Quebec High School first opened its doors. St. Patrick’s High School, which had its start in the Old City in 1843, has been in its current building since 1918, with an expansion in 1957.

The basic motivation for the project to ditch the two aging schools located within a few blocks of each other in the Montcalm district – once the heart of a thriving anglophone community – dates back to 1997, when confessional school boards were replaced with language-based boards.

St. Patrick’s, previously with the Catholic school system, became a non-denominational school, though keeping some of its religious heritage, under the newly created Central Québec School Board (CQSB).

While there were proposals to integrate or rationalize programs between the two schools, they were inevitably foiled by the then-passionate rivalry between the partisans of the St. Pat’s Fighting Irish and the Quebec High School (QHS) Blazers.

That changed in early 2017, when frustrated parents from both schools got together and asked the question, “Where do you see our high schools in 50 years?”

Led by St. Pat’s rep Ian O’Gallagher and Jean-Luc Trahan from QHS, the parents told the board the schools were ready to put aside their rivalry to gain a modern school that could compete for students with the schools in the well- resourced French system.

A presentation the group prepared to make the case for a new school cited examples of how much more the modern high schools in the French system could offer students compared to the antiquated English schools.

A bottom-line concern was that many parents whose children attended English elementary schools were choosing to send them to French high schools because of the higher- quality facilities and programs.

The presentation said, “Between Grade 6 and Secondary I, the CQSB loses 10 to 20 per cent of eligible students to French private and public schools.”

Stephen Burke, then chair of the CQSB council of commissioners, seized the initiative to push forward what was called The Project. The board got lucky in that, by sheer serendipity, the minister of education at the time was Liberal Sébastien Proulx, in whose Jean-Talon riding the new school would be built.

Not only did Proulx grasp the need for a new English high school, he signed off on a brand new English elementary school in Lévis, which opened last year – he was invited to the ribbon-cutting. That move made the St. Vincent property on Avenue Wolfe available for the new high school.

Proulx stepped down in 2019 and Joëlle Boutin won the rid- ing in a byelection for the Coalition Avenir Québec. Boutin herself stepped down in 2023, and the riding is now held by Pascal Paradis of the Parti Québécois.

Current CQSB chairperson Jean Robert, who succeeded Burke last fall, said the strong support from the city’s English- speaking community was an important factor in moving the project forward. A series of consultations in the fall of 2022 bolstered the board’s belief in the new school.

Razvan Petre, the president of Voice of English-speaking Québec (VEQ), said in an email to the QCT: “We are extremely happy to learn that the project has finally received the green light to commence the bidding process. This is a very exciting project for our youth and our community. There is no doubt that this modern new building will contribute to our community’s vitality.”

If all goes according to plan and construction can be completed in the anticipated two years, the new school – yet to be named – would welcome the first students in fall 2028.

That means students enter- ing Secondary I at St. Pat’s and QHS this September would begin their Secondary IV at a brand-new, state-of-the-art English high school, as classmates, not rivals.

School board reform was spark for new combined English high school Read More »

Marchand: Jardin Jean-Paul-L’Allier repairs to be done in tandem with tramway

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Marchand: Jardin Jean-Paul-L’Allier repairs to be done in tandem with tramway

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Freshly returned from vacation as the clock ticks down to the launch of the municipal election campaign, Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand counter- attacked on an issue that had been festering in his absence – the deterioration of Jardin Jean-Paul-L’Allier in the Saint-Roch district.

On July 30, at a City Hall news conference to announce the development of Place Namur in the Old City (see article in this edition), Marchand said that contrary to what critics say, the park in the heart of the district “has not been abandoned.”

An exposé in Le Soleil de- tailed the deterioration of the space opened in 1993, including the broken waterfall and fountains, the empty pool and the proliferation of graffiti and crumbling concrete.

“The garden is still in bloom, it’s beautiful, it’s well-maintained. But there are parts that need repair, and we’re going to do it,” the mayor said.

As for the waterfall, fountains and pool, the mayor said their mechanisms had worn out after more than 30 years of operation. He said restoring the waterfall is a major undertaking costing several million dollars.

“It certainly won’t be operational again for a few years. We need to give ourselves time to co-ordinate the tramway- related work in this area and assess its impact on the garden,” Marchand said.

The restoration work would be done, he said, well before the expected completion of the tramway in 2033, since it is in a sector where the tramway tunnel entrance would be constructed.

He said the work on the park’s waterfall and fountains “will be done in a sequence that will ensure that, for the taxpayer, the citizen, we will not have to do it three times.”

Marchand denied the deterioration of the garden was an insult to the former mayor for whom it is named. L’Allier’s widow, Johanne Mongeau, had been quoted in Le Soleil as deploring the decline in the park that had been the centrepiece of L’Allier’s revitalization of Saint-Roch.

“We will have a park worthy of the man to whom it was dedicated, but for which we will carry out the work in the right order,” Marchand said.

Sam Hamad, according to polls Marchand’s main rival for mayor, responded in a state- ment: “The Jean-Paul-L’Allier Garden is more than just a green space. It’s a symbol of pride, renewal, and heritage. Letting it wither year after year is an insult to Mr. L’Allier’s memory, but also a disavowal of the citizens of Saint-Roch.”

Hamad, leader of Leadership Québec and a former Quebec Liberal cabinet minister, said, “Instead of saying, ‘I heard you,’ the mayor tells them, ‘You misunderstood.’ Sometimes, certain issues can’t wait for the tramway. [Jardin] Jean- Paul-L’Allier is a place of life and collective memory. It must once again become a jewel, not a constant reminder of the challenges facing Saint-Roch.”

The garden, known as Jardin Saint-Roch when it opened, was renamed for L’Allier in 2017, a year after his death.

Marchand: Jardin Jean-Paul-L’Allier repairs to be done in tandem with tramway Read More »

Critics say city neglect degrading Jardin Jean-Paul L’Allier

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Critics say city neglect degrading Jardin Jean-Paul L’Allier

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Pressure is mounting on the administration of Mayor Bruno Marchand to act immediately to address the serious deterioration of Jardin Jean-Paul L’Allier in Saint-Roch.

A report in Le Soleil last week on the state of the public garden sparked a torrent of criticism and accusations the park’s decline is a symptom of the neglect of the Saint-Roch district by city hall.

Named in 2017 for the late former mayor who led the effort to revitalize the Saint- Roch district, the park is in decrepit condition 30 years after it was opened.

The waterfall no longer works, nor the fountains in the pool; graffiti marks most surfaces; gardens and lawns are badly maintained and lighting is inadequate in the area.

The decline of the park has been a festering issue for the Saint-Roch neighbourhood council. President Thomas Brady told the QCT the topic has come up several times at meetings in recent months. He said Pierre-Luc Lachance, the city councillor for Saint-Roch–Saint-Sauveur and executive committee member, was in attendance at meetings when the state of the garden was discussed.

“We are aware of the concerns about the park. Its condition does not create a sense of welcome. The occasional problems here and there, the cohabitation issues and consumer waste make people less inclined to go there,” he said.

Brady said the council would be meeting after the summer break to come up with a formal request to the city to take action.

The QCT requested a response from the city and received this reply from Cédrik Verreault, a spokesperson for the mayor: “There’s no doubt the Jardin Jean-Paul L’Allier is a central, even emblematic, location in Saint-Roch. However, after more than 30 years, some of its infrastructure, such as the fountain, needs to be replaced. And it’s only right to co-ordinate this work with the other major investments planned in the area, which will, among other things, help restore the garden to its former splendour.

“In the meantime, we are already working with the neighbourhood council, organizations and merchants to develop a broader vision for beautifying and revitalizing our city centre. We will announce the prioritized actions in the fall.”

The “other major investments planned in the area” is a reference to the tramway project. Jardin Jean-Paul L’Allier is slated to be a major station on the tramway route, the point where the train would enter a tunnel to climb to Upper Town.

The garden, formerly called Jardin Saint-Roch, is considered a symbol of L’Allier’s efforts during his 16 years as mayor to revitalize what had become a rundown neighbourhood, featuring a block-long mall that covered some distinctive architecture.

Le Soleil contacted L’Allier’s widow, Johanne Mongeau, for her reaction to the decline of the garden. “It’s an honour that the city has given him by naming it after him, and now it’s almost a pity. It’s embarrassing to say that it bears his name. Jean-Paul doesn’t deserve this,” she told the newspaper. “It’s a respect that we owe him, and for now, we can’t say that it lives up to the respect he deserves.”

Opposition and Québec d’Abord Leader Claude Villeneuve convened a press conference at the park on July 23. He said, “The state of the garden is a symbol of the Marchand administration’s abandonment of Saint-Roch.” Villeneuve said the tramway work is still years away, so the city should act now. “I’m calling for mobilization. I want the city to do its job. I call on the administration; if the mayor isn’t interested in this part of the city, let the administration take care of it.”

Another of Marchand’s mayoral rivals, Leadership Québec chief and former Quebec Liberal cabinet minister Sam Hamad, issued a statement saying: “What I see today in the Jean-Paul-L’Allier garden is a symbol of abandonment. The heart of Saint-Roch is beating slowly, and the March- and administration is looking the other way. When such an emblematic place for our city deteriorates to this extent, it is more than just a lack of maintenance: it is a clear signal that the city has lost sight of what makes our neighbourhoods so rich.”

Critics say city neglect degrading Jardin Jean-Paul L’Allier Read More »

‘Huge potential’ in commuter rail link from QC to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré: Blair

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‘Huge potential’ in commuter rail link from QC to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré: Blair

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Only a few months after getting the financially troubled Chemin de fer Charlevoix (CFC) tourist train back on the rails, company president and transportation lawyer David Blair is working on a plan to bring commuter train service to the east of the city using the same tracks.

“The tracks are already there,” Blair told the QCT. “Tomorrow morning we could run a train from [the] Gare du Palais to Sainte-Anne de Beaupré. It wouldn’t go very fast, but the rail infrastructure is there.”

The main shareholder of CFC, Groupe Le Massif, the owners of the ski resort in Charlevoix, also owns the 150-kilometre-long right of way from Quebec City to Clermont along the Saint Lawrence River, what Blair describes as “one of the most beautiful railway lines in North America.”

The key to the plan, Blair said, is to upgrade the track to be able to increase the speed of the train from the current 30 km/h to 60 km/h, making it much more attractive to potential commuter traffic.

Blair said he has already met and had positive responses from potential players in such a project, including Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault, Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand, VIA Rail, and officials from Canadian National (CN) which controls the tracks entering the Gare du Palais.

Another key player, Blair said, could be the Commission de la Capitale Nationale du Québec (CCNQ) which recently unveiled ambitious plans for Phase 4 of the Promenade Samuel-De Champlain waterfront redevelopment in the Beauport area. “It would be a perfect time to be part of that,” Blair said.

He also sees an interconnection between the commuter train and the eventual Phase 2 of the tramway project which foresees a line to D’Estimauville.

At the moment, CFC uses only the section of the tracks from a station for the tourist train at Montmorency Falls with stops at Sainte-Anne-de- Beaupré, Petite-Rivière-Saint- François, Baie Saint-Paul, Les Éboulements, Saint-Irénée and La Malbaie.

Blair said some 90,000 passengers took the tourist train last year, but the attraction ran into financial problems and there was a serious risk the train would not operate this season. A partnership with tourism company Groupe Voyages Québec, which took over management of train packages, allowed the excursion to start up operations again in June.

Blair said. “Everyone thinks it’s a good idea,” but the project, which he acknowledges is “an embryonic idea,” needs financing and partners. He said the plan would need “some kind of equivalent” to the Exo public transit operator in Montreal, which manages commuter trains and bus routes.

A city spokesperson said, “We have indeed had constructive discussions with the developer. We remain open to studying projects that help combat congestion in the greater Quebec City area.” Another key partner, Blair said, could be the Quebec ministry of transport which has “invested heavily to upgrade infrastructure” on the railways it owns, notably the Gaspé line and the former Quebec Central Railway line from Lévis to Thetford Mines (see article in this edition). Blair said the commuter train project, as preliminary as it is, would be but the first of other possible uses for an upgraded line. “If we get the speed up, all of a sudden taking a train from downtown Quebec to the ski hill would be a different perspective.”

He said, “The guy from VIA Rail was so excited” when discussing possibilities for new rail ventures. “This is fantastic. You could get off the train from Montreal, cross the platform and get on the train for Charlevoix.”

Blair said, “In order for the tracks to be viable, we really need to find other uses for them. There’s potential there, huge potential.”

Blair said he hopes to meet again with CN Rail in the coming weeks to discuss how to move forward with the plan.

‘Huge potential’ in commuter rail link from QC to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré: Blair Read More »

Bid issues delay Quebec Central Railway upgrade

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Bid issues delay Quebec Central Railway upgrade

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

While a project to bring a commuter train to the east of Quebec City could be several years away, another railway rehabilitation project in the region is well underway, but with an unexpected delay.

Postponements in the tendering process have forced a delay in work to upgrade a section of the Quebec Central Railway line between Vallée-Jonction and Thetford Mines.

Initially slated to be completed this fall, the delay may push the reopening of the line to 2027, according to a report in Beauce Média.

The project involves the third and fourth sections over a distance of 58 kilometres, the last two portions of the plan to rehabilitate 109 km of track from Lévis to Thetford Mines, for the use of predominantly cargo traffic.

The Quebec Central Railway was built in 1869 and ran from Lévis to Sherbrooke and then into the United States, a total distance of 344 km.

The Quebec government bought the line in 2007 with the aim of providing a more environmentally friendly alternative to truck cargo traffic. The first section of the project, the 33 km from Lévis to Scott, is already in operation.

The second section, the 18 km from Scott to Vallée-Jonction, is also well advanced, with five bridges rebuilt and a portion in operation between Sainte-Marie and Vallée-Jonction.

The last two sections are the most complicated and most expensive, at an estimated $440 million. The work involves, according to transport ministry information, the reconstruction of 17 bridges, replacing 102 culverts, complete reprofiling of the tracks and rebuilding 40 level crossings.

Transport ministry spokesperson Nicolas Vigneault told Beauce Média that tenders, initially called for February, were postponed until July. “These postponements were necessary, due, among other things, to the numerous questions received from bidders.”

According to the report, “Given this change to the tendering procedure, the ministry now expects work to begin in the fall of 2025. Work will be interrupted during the winter season, with commissioning scheduled for 2027.”

The Quebec government also owns the Gaspé rail line. Work to bring that line back into service after years of abandonment has been delayed due to cost issues and other complications until at least 2027.

(Editors’ note: For further information about the Gaspé rail renovations and efforts to bring passenger rail service back to the Gaspé, read this recent story by our colleagues at the Gaspé Spec.) 

Bid issues delay Quebec Central Railway upgrade Read More »

Guilbault gets $275 million to make third link bridge-tunnel irreversible

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Guilbault gets $275 million to make third link bridge-tunnel irreversible

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault has said on several occasions her goal is to make the “third link” project ir- reversible.

With an election slated for October next year that polls suggest may oust the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government, the window is closing for Guilbault to push the bridge- tunnel plan past the point of no return.

Last week, according to several media reports confirmed by Guilbault’s office, the CAQ cabinet approved $275 million in funding to allow the minister to move forward on the project, one the government has revised, cancelled and then revived again, arguing that a third bridge is necessary for economic and security reasons.

A spokesperson for the minister said the money accorded Guilbault was already in the 2019 infrastructure budget and not “new money.”

In June, Guilbault announced the government’s recommended route for the proposed link, a bridge from Autoroute 40 in Lévis to be connected to a tunnel to be bored somewhere in the Cap Diamant area on the North Shore and exiting to connect with either Boul. Pierre-Bertrand or Autoroute Robert-Bourassa.

At the time of her announce- ment of the route, Guilbault said, “In my mind, I want to make the project irreversible before the next election, and therefore protect it from the outcome of the next election.

“We’re no longer in the ‘for or against’ debate about the third link. We need to create a third link, and I’m working on how to complete it as quickly as possible. We’re going to create the best project at the best price.”

Guilbault said she will reveal more details on the route and the projected cost sometime in the fall. A recent Radio-Canada report cited experts who have pegged the cost of building the third link at between $5.3 and $9.3 billion, not including many associated costs.

The federal government has distanced itself from the project and possible financ- ing. Minister of Government Services and Procurement Joël Lightbound, the MP for Louis-Hébert, said at the time of Guilbault’s route announcement, “The federal government’s position doesn’t really change, because there isn’t a project that has really been put forward.”

In the past, the federal Liberals have said a third link project that gave priority to car and truck traffic as opposed to public transit would not be eligible for funding.

The quarter-billion dollars accorded Guilbault for the third link raised the ire of the Opposition Quebec Liberal Party. In a statement to the QCT, Monsef Derraji, critic for transport, said, “At a time when Quebec is facing serious financial challenges, it’s hard to justify allocating $275 million to a third-link project that lacks a clear route, timeline, or solid scientific backing.”

He said, “While the CAQ government is making cuts to health and education, it is pouring hundreds of millions into a project with no proven necessity. This isn’t just poor planning – it’s a matter of misplaced priorities.”

Radio-Canada also uncovered concrete evidence the third link project is advancing on the ground. It reported geotechnical drilling to determine the quality and composition of the ground is to be done on some 50 sites on both the south and north shores, as well as in the St. Lawrence River itself. The work started in early July and is expected to be completed in September.

The $46-million contract for the work was awarded in February to a consortium comprising French, American and Canadian engineering firms.

Guilbault gets $275 million to make third link bridge-tunnel irreversible Read More »

City bike rentals soar during Festival d’été

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City bike rentals soar during Festival d’été

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Although it was obvious to anyone who observed the packed bike lanes during the Festival d’été de Québec, the data now proves the city’s àVélo bike rental service was a huge success – perhaps too much so.

The Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC), which man- ages the service through its Capitale Mobilité subsidiary, reported last week that users of the àVélo service took some 160,415 trips during the 11-day festival, an increase of 56 per cent over last year.

The biggest single evening for àVélo use was July 8, which featured the French rap duo Bigflo et Oli on the Plains of Abraham, with more than 19,000 trips.

Officials said part of the huge increase was due to the strike by RTC maintenance workers that deprived the city of bus service for 10 of the 11 days of the festival. Another factor was the major expansion of the bike fleet as well as the growing popularity of àVélo.

Coun. Maude Mercier Larouche, the city executive committee member who serves as RTC president, said at a July 15 news conference that the “exceptional context” of the bus strike “caused significant challenges for many customers. Under these circumstances, àVélo has represented a valuable mobility solution for thousands of citizens, who have adopted it in record numbers.” With the surge of 160,000 FEQ rides, the total so far for the àVélo season that began in May is 815,000.

Mayor Bruno Marchand, an avid àVélo user himself, said, “Exceptional circumstances or not, citizens’ appetite for àVélo is undeniable. We are convinced that the service will continue to be adopted by an ever-increasing number of people. That is why we remain committed to improving the àVélo offering throughout the territory, as we have done every year since its launch.”

Besides the huge spike in àVélo usage, city officials also tracked a major increase in traffic of personal bicycles on established bike paths, notably on Chemin Sainte-Foy, known as the VivaCité corridor.

On July 8 alone, according to city information, 4,300 bikes used the path, with a total of 32,000 over the course of the festival. The temporary bike lanes on Grande Allée drew more than 34,000 users during FEQ, more than double the traffic of the previous year.

The city plans to expand its fleet of àVélo bikes from the current 1,800 to 3,300 by 2028, and double the number of stations from 165 to 330.

City bike rentals soar during Festival d’été Read More »

City draws on colonial history for road safety campaign

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City draws on colonial history in road safety campaign

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The Ville de Québec is using a catchy, if not controversial, theme in its newly unveiled street safety awareness campaign.

With the slogan Être colon sur la route, c’est dépassé!, the city launched the campaign on July 16 in Place de Paris in the Old City. The slogan plays on an amusing pair of homonyms in Quebec French. The word colon literally means “colonist” and refers to the first French settlers in New France, many of whom were poorly educated soldiers and indentured servants. In local parlance, a colon is an ill-mannered, unsophisticated, classless or ignorant person; the word can also be an adjective referring to ignorant, rude or sloppy behaviour – for example, “C’est colon de laisser tes déchets par terre.” (“It’s ignorant to leave your trash on the ground.”) The city’s slogan translates more or less to “Acting ignorant on the road is a thing of the past.”

In a release, the city said, “While the message is irreverent and striking, it also sends a clear message to the public: risky behaviour on the road no longer has a place.”

Actors in period costumes were on site to unveil the series of slogans to be “visible on various digital platforms, billboards, and radio to ensure broad reach to as many road users as possible.”

The campaign is to run from July 21 to mid-September.

City draws on colonial history for road safety campaign Read More »

New Laurier tower caps Medway’s formula mixing medicine with housing

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New Laurier tower caps Medway’s formula mixing medicine with housing

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

If things go as planned, in the not-too-distant future, a 28-storey tower containing apartments and medical offices will rise from a lot on Boulevard Laurier which was once home to Red Lobster and Burger King franchises.

The as-yet-unnamed $400-million project is the latest – and largest – venture of the Lévis-based Medway company, which already has four new major buildings slated to be delivered in the region over the next year.

They are the Complexe Santé Rivière Saint-Charles, on Boul. Wilfrid-Hamel; the Complexe Santé in Rivière- du-Loup; Le Kali, the site of a former restaurant of that name on Boul. Charest Est; and Le Taniata, in Saint-Jean-Chrysostome.

The projects are all products of Medway’s formula of combining medical administration services with commercial and residential development.

The latest project at 3000 Boul. Laurier typifies the company’s partnership with the medical community in providing health-care offices and infrastructure within a mostly residential complex.

Company founder and president Yan Boudreau explained in a phone interview how Medway has been working with the Groupe de médecine de famille (GMF) Laurier for about two years to devise the plan.

The GMF, comprising some 18 doctors and currently located across Boulevard Laurier in the Delta building, decided last year to cut ties with the local public Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) and hire Medway to handle its administration.

The Laurier GMF, which is also a Université Laval- associated teaching facility for family doctors, is the fifth out of six GMFs in the capital region to leave the CIUSSS administration, according to Dr. Caroline Laberge, spokesperson for the unit, as quoted in a Radio-Canada story. It will remain a public clinic.

Boudreau said the latest project follows the pattern Medway has specialized in for the past five years of combining residential housing with medical clinics. “It all starts with a public medical clinic,” in tandem with the city’s “interest in having mixed-use projects [given] all the housing needs.”

Boudreau said his company has worked closely with the city to ensure the project meets the criteria for speedy approval. An important factor, as well, is that the building would be close to the future tramway line.

The building will have 25 storeys with a total of 896 residential units, half of which, Boudreau said, would be designated as affordable housing with rents of less than $1,500 a month. The three bottom floors will be devoted to the GMF once it makes the move to the new building.

Boudreau said he hopes that once the project gets the city’s green light, clearing and excavation of the site would begin in the fall and construction in the spring. Completion is targeted for 2032.

With the Laurier project, Medway now has some 30 buildings in its portfolio, about half of which are mixed medical-residential projects now open or in the works.

Boudreau, 45, is a native of Havre Aubert in the Magdalen Islands who graduated from Western University’s business program thanks to a football scholarship. He left his job in banking 15 years ago and decided to get into real estate.

“When you want to start in real estate, you either have a lot of capital, which I didn’t have, or you find a niche and you find ways to deliver services and products maybe a lot of developers don’t want to take care of, like medical services, which is our core business.”

Boudreau also credits the Medway team of professionals with a wide set of expertise as a reason for the company’s rapid growth.

When it’s completed, the Medway building on Boul. Laurier would be in a three-way tie for third tallest in Quebec City. The Hilton Hotel and Édifice Jules-Dallaire II on Boul. Laurier are also 28 storeys. The two tallest are Place Hauteville with the Delta Hotel at 34 storeys, and the Édifice Marie-Guyart, the Quebec government building which houses the Observatoire de la Capitale, at 33 storeys.

Boudreau said he felt “excited, to be honest” to be taking on “our biggest project ever.” He emphasized the social aspect of what will inevitably be a high-profile and prestigious building on the city’s main thoroughfare.

“We really want to address the capacity of the population to pay rent, and that’s our bet that we [can] deliver new and really nice-looking units with the affordable rent.”

New Laurier tower caps Medway’s formula mixing medicine with housing Read More »

FEQ declares success despite challenges of transit strike

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , , ,

FESTIVAL D’ÉTÉ DE QUÉBEC

FEQ declares success despite challenges of transit strike

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

As heavy weather threatened the final day of the Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) on July 11, organizers were declaring the 57th edition a “resounding success,” despite facing the first transit strike in the event’s history, and yes, unpredictable weather.

A sometimes emotional Louis Bellavance, head of content and artistic direction for BLEUFEU, the non-profit organization that runs the 11-day event, declared this year’s gathering a triumph for fans “who know what they want” and who “come for the music,” not just to take pictures. At the traditional wrap-up news conference, which began with a video montage of Shania Twain’s performance the night before, Bellavance said, “This year we conquered the entertainment industry.” He said FEQ organizers heard from “dozens and dozens” of artists and their teams who said the Quebec City event “is the best festival in the world.”

He said what happened this year was “a recognition without precedent” for the calibre of events FEQ organizes, which creates a special connection between the performing artists and the fans.

The success he described was despite the considerable obstacle of a strike by Réseau de transport de la capitale (RTC) maintenance staff, which paralyzed city bus service for the duration of the festival, and an unrelated strike which halted service on the Quebec City-Lévis ferry.

BLEUFEU president Nicolas Racine, now with his third festival as boss under his belt, said the threat of an RTC bus drivers’ strike two years earlier helped prepare organizers for the real deal this year.

“We put some measures in place to make sure that people would have less trouble coming in. So we just took that again, and maybe pumped it up a little bit.”

He said he was amazed at how the fans adapted to the transit challenges.

“The fans are great. They came earlier, they shared a car, they used their bike. They walked and parked further and they walked half an hour to come in. So why not – instead of staying in your car for half an hour, why don’t we walk? So that’s what happened. So the impact for us was less than expected.”

One silver lining of the transit strike, Bellavance noted, was that because more fans arrived earlier, there were bigger and more appreciative audiences for the “undercard” acts.

Now with 15 years as head programmer for FEQ under his belt, Bellavance listed some of his personal favourites among the more than 200 shows to take the stage, among them Richard Marx, Marjo, Alessia Cara, Avril Lavigne, Simple Plan and Wyclef Jean.

He had special praise for the artists who made themselves available on short notice due to sudden cancellations.

He singled out Slayer for a notable FEQ record: most T-shirts sold, more than previous top sellers, the Rolling Stones and Metallica.

Above all, Bellavance said, the most satisfying bookings for FEQ this year were Twain, whom the festival had pursued for years, and Benson Boone, the 23-year- old American pop sensation who organizers correctly bet could pack the massive Plains stage.

Racine said organizers are already planning for the 2026 edition, and the success of FEQ 2025 “is a motivation for us. We want to do better. We know we can do better. Our main goal is to make the fans happy.”

There was one sour note among the general good vibes of the festival, with the news that some performers are suing FEQ through SOCAN, Canada’s artists’ rights and revenues agency, for unpaid royalties for “carte blanche” shows for the previous three festivals.

FEQ responded to the public release of details of the federal court suit with a statement on July 12. “The FEQ deplores the timing chosen by SOCAN – in the middle of the festival – to initiate legal proceedings. Discussions between the two parties had been ongoing until very recently.”

FEQ declares success despite challenges of transit strike Read More »

Bus strike? They took a bike! FEQ fans find ways to attend shows

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , ,

Bus strike? They took a bike! FEQ fans find ways to attend shows

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

There were nightmarish traffic jams, armies of pedestrians on long marches and thousands upon thousands riding bicycles. Others took taxis or ride-shared. Whichever way they used to get there, fans found a way to show up in the usual vast numbers to take in Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) events.

A strike by Réseau du Trans- port de la Capitale (RTC) mechanics and maintenance workers marked the first time ever the festival got underway without public bus service. Last year, for example, RTC buses, including special shuttle buses for the festival, transported some 300,000 people to the event zones.

The maintenance union, with 363 members, has been without a contract since September, and in May had staged a two-day strike as a negotiating tactic. Reports said the union was seeking a 30 per cent pay increase over five years, but other sources say the demand is between 18 and 22 per cent over five years.

Other work issues are also on the table, according to the union. Talks were set to resume on July 8. Members had voted massively in favour of a 10-day strike during FEQ and threatened an unlimited strike if no progress was made.

In the meantime, some 3,000 city bus drivers plus support staff are off the job.

The city’s popular àVélo service, managed by the RTC, was not affected by the strike. Two years ago, the bus drivers’ union threatened a strike on the eve of FEQ, but a last- minute agreement avoided a transit shutdown.

Not only is a bus strike complicating the lives of commuters, but another strike has shut down the ferry service between Quebec and Levis during FEQ for the second year in a row.

The 13-day strike by some 200 unlicensed workers also affects government-operated ferries serving Matane, Baie-Comeau and Godbout.

As for the bus strike, city officials say they cannot give in to union demands; Mayor Bruno Marchand said he is happy to be called a “dictator” by the union if it means dealing with taxpayer dollars responsibly.

While the city took some steps to alleviate the strike impact, such as expanding temporary bike lanes and drop-off zones, mayoral candidate Sam Hamad said the Marchand administration failed to be prepared.

In a statement, the head of Leadership Québec said, “It’s surprising that Quebec City didn’t see fit to have a real Plan B, even though it knew that a service interruption to the RTC was possible dur- ing the festival. In a context where the FEQ’s brand image and that of Quebec City as a tourist destination are at stake, this lack of preparation sends the wrong message.”

Hamad said if his party were in power it would have brought in such measures as working with FEQ to set up shuttle services, called upon businesses to make parking lots available and made parking free for carpoolers.

FEQ officials said they rejected the idea of having bus shuttles on standby, as they did in 2023, in the event of a strike, since the cost was prohibitive. A private bus company, meanwhile, has stepped into the void, offering rides for return trips from selected sites for $20 on buses used during the day for transporting day camp counsellors.

Bus strike? They took a bike! FEQ fans find ways to attend shows Read More »

Journalist Marianne White runs for Marchand team in St-Louis-Sillery

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Journalist Marianne White runs for Marchand team in Saint-Louis–Sillery

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Veteran journalist Marianne White, most recently a senior editor at Le Journal de Québec, is leaping into municipal politics as the candidate for Mayor Bruno Marchand’s party in the Saint-Louis–Sillery seat.

White made the announcement on June 25 in front of the city library on Ave. Maguire, with nine other Québec Forte et Fière (QFF) candidates and the mayor at her side.

White, 47, will be seeking to succeed current QFF councillor Maude Mercier Larouche, the member of the executive committee responsible for transit, who announced she is not seeking a second term for family reasons.

In an interview with the QCT, White said she was very surprised she had been approached by QFF representatives about running for the party.

“We had lunch with two representatives of the party and when they pitched that to me, my jaw dropped, literally. I didn’t see myself doing that. But they made a really good pitch – and thinking back on it, I think they were right in the fact that I think I’m the right person to do this. I have what it takes to be there.”

White said, “They wanted to have someone who was from the community, and I‘ve been living here for six years. I think I could do that. I’m driven. I’m a good communicator.”

She told the party reps she would consider the proposal, and then she and her partner embarked on a planned three-week island-hopping vacation in Greece. “There couldn’t be a better place to reflect than Greece.”

After weighing the pros and cons, and keenly aware of the demands on politicians from having covered them as a journalist for many years, White decided to go for it.

“At the end of the day, what really drove my decision is I want to get more involved in my community. I want to be in a more active position … part of building the city for the future, for what we want to leave to the next generation.”

Upon her return, she handed in her resignation to Le Journal de Québec, where she had worked since 2012. Prior to Le Journal, White had worked in various French and English- language media for some 27 years after graduating from Université Laval with a communications degree.

In 2018, she wrote a book on Jean Lapierre, the politician and media commentator who died in a plane crash in 2016.

She has also written a foodie column, focusing on restaurants in the city.

White said she had no doubts that if she were to run, it would be for Marchand’s QFF. Part of that is the party’s commitment to the tramway project, which has relatively strong support in the Sillery district, according to polls.

“I think people are looking forward to this project going ahead. We’ve been talking about it for 20 or so years in Quebec,” White said.

“That’s not to say it’s going to be an easy project and there’s not going to be some problems when we try to put that into effect. There’s going to be roadwork and other inconveniences, but the job of the city is to try and make sure that this has the least impact on residents.”

White, whose father John White was a philosophy teacher at Cégep de Sainte-Foy, said her father encouraged her and her siblings to attend French school, and so, despite her anglo ancestry, she identifies as a francophone. Her precise English, however, has allowed her to work in English-language media.

She said she recognizes “there’s a vibrant English community in Quebec,” particularly in Sillery, and “people are proud of their roots.”

When the time came last week to step to the podium and announce her political baptism, White said, “It was fun, exhilarating even. I could say it was very different from what I’ve been doing for the past 27 years. I’ve been used to being on the other side of the podium for most of my life. But it’s a good thing. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I wanted to do something different in my life and now, I think, is a good time to do it.”

The addition of White to the QFF team brings to 17 the total number of candidates the party has in place for the 21 districts.

Municipal elections will be held across Quebec on Nov. 2.

Journalist Marianne White runs for Marchand team in St-Louis-Sillery Read More »

‘Galleon’ tower to be anchored at the peak of Grande Allée

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

‘Galleon’ tower to be anchored at the peak of Grande Allée

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

After nearly 15 years of battles with City Hall and in the courts, developer Louis Lessard appears to be on the verge of realizing his ambition to build a luxury tower on Grande Allée Est.

Lessard was in attendance at a public consultation meeting on June 16 where he announced his plan for Le Galléon, a 20-storey building on the site where Saint- Coeur-de-Marie church stood until it fell into ruin and was demolished in 2019.

Lessard, who acquired the property in 2010, 13 years after it had been abandoned by the Catholic diocese, said in brief remarks that the building would be “absolutely magnificent.”

If the city grants a build- ing permit by August, Le Galléon, containing 200 residential rental units and a number of commercial spaces, would take 18 months to build. No dollar amount for the project has been made available.

The project website describes the building in grand terms: “Between sky, city and river, Le Galléon – a timeless design inspired by the site’s heritage. Anchored at the highest point of the iconic Grande Allée, Le Galléon is reinventing the art of living in Quebec City.”

Some 58 people attended the information session in person and another 60 online; both the Galléon project and a 10-storey addition to the 153-155 Grande Allée Est building were presented.

The city councillor for Cap-aux-Diamants and executive committee member responsible for urban planning, Coun. Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc, attended and explained how the two large projects on Grande Allée were being fast-tracked under a new law to accelerate housing construction in areas of high demand.

Coulombe-Leduc noted that buildings of 20 storeys and more are not uncommon on Grande Allée. “We’ll hear what people have to say. We’ll see if it directly affects the project or if there are indirect consequences that might allow us to work in a different way. We’ll weigh the pros and cons. We’ll see if there’s a need to make changes or not.”

The Galléon developers have already made several changes to the project design in response to comments from the city’s urban planning commission, said Jonathan Brisson, head of Circum Architecture, the firm heading up the project.

For Lessard, the city’s sudden enthusiasm for his proposal for a 20-storey tower marks a stunning reversal from what has transpired since 2010. In 2017, his company had proposed an 18-storey building, which was rejected by the city.

It had been, according to Lessard, the 12th design proposal submitted to the city since he bought the site, which included the abandoned church. Several of the early proposals included concepts that retained parts of the church structure.

Frustrated by the city’s refusal to accept a tower high enough to be profitable, in 2022 Lessard submitted a design for a nine-storey parking garage that he believed conformed to existing zoning. The city rejected the proposal and changed the zoning to block such a project. Lessard then took the city to court, but lost in a decision rendered in June 2024.

What happened between Lessard and the city after that court decision that led to the submission of a comprehensive architectural plan for a 20-storey tower a few months later was not discussed at the consultation session.

There were few questions about Le Galléon posed at the three-hour meeting. One did concern the process that would be used to excavate the four-storey underground garage. Brisson was not able to be specific but conceded blasting would likely be required, given the rock upon which the structure would be built.

‘Galleon’ tower to be anchored at the peak of Grande Allée Read More »

Possible transit chaos, Twain gift in busy FEQ buildup

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Possible transit chaos, police weapons upgrade, Twain gift in busy FEQ buildup

Peter Black and Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative reporters

The 57th edition of the Festival d’été de Québec opens July 3 with another sell-out of the 11-day event, but with the threat of a transit strike looming and the presence of police carrying assault weapons.

Known as Canada’s biggest summer music gathering, with upwards of 200 shows on six stages, including the mammoth Bell stage on the Plains of Abraham, FEQ will welcome up to 80,000 fans for headliner performances.

This year’s marquee biggies include Canadian megastars Shania Twain and Avril Lavigne, as well as legendary crooner Rod Stewart, breakout American pop heartthrob Benson Boone and classic British rock band Def Leppard.

Just as a point of novelty, the program features Canadian pop star Alessia Cara, not to be confused with up-and-coming Quebec singer Alissa Clara.

This year, the alternating stages return to Place George-V in front of the armoury, where one highly anticipated show will be a tribute to the 30th anniversary of Céline Dion’s record-breaking D’eux album, featuring a parade of Quebec vedettes.

Dozens of shows are free on stages across from the National Assembly and in Place D’Youville. There’s a program for children, called Petit FEQ, happening on weekends.

Twain, perhaps the festival’s biggest draw this year, is not just bringing her top-selling repertoire to Quebec City. As part of her Shania Twain Foundation, the superstar is funding some 375,000 meals for people facing food insecurity.

Each of five tour cities – Calgary, Moose Jaw, Ottawa, Toronto and Quebec City – will receive a $25,000 donation for food programs. Twain plays the second Saturday show of FEQ on July 12.

A late replacement to the lineup is indie rocker Lauren Spencer Smith, subbing in for British singer/model Suki Waterhouse, who cancelled her gig opening for the Irish fusion band Hosier on the Bell stage on July 10.

New weaponry for city police

While most circumstances of the festival have stayed the same, one new and possibly disturbing element would be the presence of city police officers carrying the HK 416 semi-automatic assault rifle.

The Service de police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ) will deploy a certain number of officers trained in the use of the weapon as both a tactical device and a deterrent.

Capt. Alain Bernier, the officer in charge of weapons training, told Le Journal de Québec the guns “will provide increased precision, range, and ballistic capability compared to the service weapon. We will be able to take action more effectively and from a distance that would normally be inaccessible to us.”

The report said the SPVQ made the decision in response to recent incidents of vehicles driving into crowds, such as in Vancouver and New Orleans.

The SVPQ says the weapons had been available for use in the past, but for the first time, officers will be making them visible.

As yet unconfirmed is whether the city will also install vehicle-intrusion barriers for FEQ, as is the case in a pilot project on Rue Saint-Jean this summer.

Bus strike still possible

As this newspaper went to press on June 30, the threat of a transit maintenance workers’ strike, which would paralyze Réseau du transport de la Capitale (RTC) bus service, still hung over the festival. Unless an agreement is announced by 3 p.m. on July 3, the strike could begin as early as July 4, the second day of FEQ, and continue through July 13, shutting down both regular bus service and shuttles to the festival, Valérie Drolet, executive director of network development and customer experience at the RTC, told a City Hall press conference on June 30.

She noted that the strike could last anywhere from one day to the full ten, and service would return to normal gradually after a strike. “As soon as the RTC knows the union’s intentions, all its communication and information channels will be activated to inform regular customers and festival-goers,” Drolet said, adding that riders who bought Festibus passes and tickets would be reimbursed in the event of a strike. She would not comment on the ongoing negotiations.

The QCT requested an in- terview with a representative from the maintenance workers’ union – the Syndicat des salariés et salariées d’entretien du RTC–CSN – through several channels but did not receive a response by press time.

The àVélo bike sharing program, Flexibus service and adapted transit services will not be affected in the event of a strike, although the city is anticipating increased demand for those services. An additional àVélo station will be set up near the Joan of Arc Garden for the festival. The city will also put in place pick-up and drop-off zones for cars at the Gare du Palais and along Ave. Brown between René-Lévesque and Grande Allée.

City officials and FEQ organizers advised people driving to the festival to consider carpooling and leave plenty of time – at least an hour – to find parking. “We want people to get on board and come have fun with us, and I think that’s going to happen, but you just need to take a little more time to get there,” said FEQ CEO Nicolas Racine.

For up-to-date information on FEQ, go to the festival website at feq.ca/en.

Possible transit chaos, Twain gift in busy FEQ buildup Read More »

Mayoral hopeful Hamad proposes SRB transit plan rejected by Caisse

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Mayoral hopeful Hamad proposes SRB transit plan rejected by Caisse

Peter Black

peterblack@qctonline.com

Mayoral candidate Sam Hamad has unveiled his promised alternative to the tramway plan. It is based on the service rapide par bus (SRB+) plan initially proposed in 2015 but subsequently rejected.

Hamad, a former Liberal provincial transport minister and engineer by profession, revealed details of SRB+, which he acknowledged was not a fully fleshed out proposal, at a June 18 news conference at a hotel on Boul. Laurier.

Hamad, vowing that the tramway would be dead if he and his Leadership Québec team win on Nov. 2, said his plan would be less disruptive to build, cost much less and provide greater service to the suburbs.

The key difference from the current tramway plan is the mode – a train of elongated buses in dedicated lanes instead of rail cars running on tracks – and the central trajectory – Boul. Charest between Université Laval and Saint- Roch, as opposed to Boul. René- Lévesque.

As a prelude to Hamad’s presentation, Daniel Lessard, former longtime head of engineering services for the city, gave an overview of transit plans dating back to 2015 under the administration of then- mayor Régis Labeaume.

Lessard concluded, “For over 25 years, I have planned and managed this city’s infrastructure. The SRB+ is the most realistic, technically robust and quickly deliverable project to meet the mobility needs of Quebec City residents.”

Hamad said the project, based on reams of previous studies, creating 29 kilometres of SRB lanes serving the Lebourgneuf, Charlesbourg, D’Estimauville and Le Gendre sectors, could get underway by 2029 and be completed in two years, at a cost of $4.2 billion.

He said, “It’s time to turn the page on the uncertainties sur- rounding the tramway and move forward with a realistic, credible project that’s resolutely forward-looking and based on the best available technical recommendations. This project is the modern, sustainable and immediate solution that Quebec needs.”

A plan for an SRB system running along Boul. Charest had been proposed in 2015 by the Labeaume administration, partly to accommodate the demands of the city of Lévis. At the time, Hamad was a minister in then-premier Philippe Couillard’s cabinet, responsible for the capital region.

When Lévis changed its mind about the project, as Labeaume recounted in his recent memoirs, Quebec City also abandoned the plan. In 2018, the city presented the first edition of the tramway plan, and quickly won support and a funding commitment from the federal government.

Since then, delays and associated mounting costs prompted the Quebec government to commission the Caisse de depot et placement infrastructure division (CDPQ Infra) to study the region’s transport needs and offer solutions.

In June 2024, that study was released containing the recommendation to build a scaled- down tramway system, with the central corridor running along Boul. René-Lévesque. The study rejected an SRB system as providing inadequate capacity for future needs, but did include the mode for subsidiary routes.

Whereas a key element of the tramway system is the complete electrification of the rolling stock, Hamad said the SRB system would not be powered by diesel, but when a call for tenders is made, “we’ll see what technology there is that responds to what we need. So hybrid (gasoline-electric) would be a good choice.”

He named several cities in the world that have electric SRB systems.

As for how he plans to convince the Quebec government that has committed to funding 50 per cent of the tramway to support his plan, Hamad said, “In my experience, usually the [Quebec] government responds to the mayor who is elected by the people.”

He said his plan’s $4.2-billion budget is half that of the current system, and given the government’s current financial situation, “This is an advantage for us.”

Mayoral hopeful Hamad proposes SRB transit plan rejected by Caisse Read More »

Critics slam Hamad’s transit plan as obsolete

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , ,

Critics slam Hamad’s transit plan as obsolete

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Leadership Québec mayoral candidate Sam Hamad denies the coming election will be a referendum on the choice of transit system for the city.

Yet, given his vow to kill the current tramway system and replace it with one based on rapid bus service (SRB), transit is bound to be the central issue of the campaign.

A recent Segma poll showed Mayor Bruno Marchand leading Hamad by six points (38 per cent to 32 per cent) before Hamad released his transit plan last week. The poll also found nearly 30 per cent undecided, so the race for City Hall likely will be a battle to convince voters who has the better plan.

Hence, a day after Hamad unveiled his plan, Marchand delivered a harsh rebuke at a City Hall news conference. Marchand said Hamad’s proposal is “purely a political game. There are no facts, no science, no data to demonstrate that his project – without integration with a major axis – is relevant.”

Calling it a plan drawn up by “volunteers,” Marchand said it would do nothing to reduce the congestion problem in the most heavily populated corridor of the city, along Boul. René-Lévesque.

“We’re talking about Mr. Hamad’s feelings versus 20 years of studies, consultations, science and facts,” the mayor said.

“Do we want another election in Quebec City driven by nostalgia, a return to the past, the dream of 2015? I think the people of Quebec City are fed up,” Marchand said.

Opposition and Québec d’Abord Leader Claude Ville- neuve told reporters, “Who re- ally believes that Sam Hamad can deliver a mobility project? How many mobility projects have progressed in Quebec while Sam Hamad was minister of transport? How many in Quebec City? You know the answer: zero.”

Transition Québec Leader and Limoilou Coun. Jackie Smith said she “feels like [she’s] watching a bad comedy” with Hamad’s transit announcement.

“I don’t think what people want is to resume the debate where it was more than 10 years ago, when the idea Mr. Hamad is bringing back was rejected. The [CDPQ Infra] plan already includes the passage of an SRB on Boul. Charest; Mr. Hamad simply wants to start the plan backwards. The heart of the network congestion problem is on Parliament Hill and that’s what we’re tackling first with the deployment of the first phase of the tramway.”

Nora Loreto, co-founder and spokesperson for the pro- tramway citizens group Québec Désire Son Tramway, told the QCT Hamad’s proposal “shows that he’s got no clue about the growth of the city and the planned growth over the next 20 years. Seeing that he wants to push all the traffic onto Charest and leave the status quo in Upper Town is just not an option because at the end of the day the blockage for the traffic [stays] in Upper Town.”

Loreto said, “There’s a reason why all of the experts have not recommended this plan, and we think that it would be very prudent for Mr. Hamad, in an area where he is clearly lacking some knowledge and expertise, to listen to the experts on this one.”

Hamad’s plan did garner the support of Stevens Melançon, leader of Équipe Priorité Québec, who is reported to be considering joining Hamad’s team. He told Le Soleil, “I defend the citizen; I defend a project that respects the citizens’ ability to pay and that will serve my citizens.”

As for Marchand’s dismissal of Hamad’s plan, Melançon said, “I find it hard to understand why the mayor, whose project is not socially acceptable, is lecturing people.”

Critics slam Hamad’s transit plan as obsolete Read More »

Faubourg elevator reopens after major repairs

Local Journalism Initiative / / / ,

Faubourg elevator reopens after major repairs

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Pedestrians will once again have more convenient access between Upper and Lower Town with the reopening of the refurbished Faubourg elevator.

Located on Rue Saint-Vallier, the historic lift and the compact café next to it had been closed since March 17 for major renovations to the interior and exterior.

The work was done in two phases, the first being last fall, with the cleaning of the adjacent cliff and repairing brickwork and windows on the structure.

The second phase involved the complete replacement of the elevator and entrance areas. Some work will continue until July 13, according to a city news release, but it will not affect use of the elevator by the public.

The overall cost of the project is $1.47 million. According to the city, the elevator, “designed in 1942 by architect Wilfrid Lacroix … has served both a utilitarian and indispensable purpose for over 80 years, as well as being a representative example of Art Deco public architecture. While 200 to 400 users use it daily, renovations carried out in 1997 gave it its current appearance.

Faubourg elevator reopens after major repairs Read More »

Hamad recruits two sitting councillors for City Hall team

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Hamad recruits two sitting councillors for City Hall team

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Mayoral candidate Sam Hamad now has two sitting municipal councillors on his own slate of candidates.

Isabelle Roy, councillor for the Robert-Giffard district in Beauport, and Louis Martin, councillor for Cap-Rouge–Laurentien and former speaker of the city council, will run under Hamad’s Leadership Québec banner.

Both were councillors for the opposition Québec d’abord party, but in March leader Claude Villeneuve booted Roy from the caucus when reports surfaced she had talked to Hamad about joining his party. Martin, who had also had discussions with Hamad, quit the party on his own shortly afterwards.

As members of Québec d’abord, both councillors supported the tramway project, an initiative of the previous administration of Régis Labeaume. Hamad opposes the project in its current concept as a costly system citizens do not want.

Both councillors, when the QCT contacted them, offered explanations for the change of position. Roy said, “I don’t think I’ve been the biggest cheerleader for the tramway project in the last three years. The abandonment of the D’Estimauville branch of the tramway was the breaking point for my support.”

She said, “The citizens of Quebec deserve efficient mobility across the entire territory, and the project Mr. Hamad will be putting forward is a step in that very direction.”

Martin said, “I’ve always been in favour of improving public transit in the city. It does not matter what vehicle – tramway, subway, bus – we need more transit, quickly. I saw Mr. Hamad’s proposal and I am convinced that it’s the best project to improve public transit in the city, quickly, for all neighbourhoods, at a price we can afford.”

Martin said Hamad plans to unveil his alternative transit plan as early as this week.

As far as why she joined Hamad’s team, Roy said the former provincial Liberal MNA and minister “is an authentic leader, capable of bringing people together and moving major issues forward by rallying the right people around the table.”

The addition of Roy and Martin now gives Leadership Québec seven confirmed candidates so far for the 21 districts. Hamad does not plan to run for a council seat as some mayoral candidates have chosen to do.

Québec d’abord now has only two sitting councillors who plan to run again, Patricia Boudreault-Bruyère in Neufchâtel–Lebourgneuf and Véronique Dallaire in Saules–Les Méandres. Longtime councillor Anne Corriveau announced earlier this month she does not plan to run again in her Pointe- de-Sainte-Foy district.

Besides the two incumbents, the other Québec d’abord candidates are Rosie-Anne R. Vallières in Vanier-Duberger, a seat being vacated by Alicia Despins, and Sophie Gosselin in Lac-Saint-Charles–Saint-Émile. Villeneuve, who is running for mayor for the first time, is the councillor for Maizerets-Lairet.

The large field of mayoral candidates became even larger over the weekend when former City Hall opposition leader and mayoral candidate Anne Guérette announced she was running for mayor again under the banner of the newly created Parti du Monde – Équipe Anne Guérette. Since stepping down as leader of the now-defunct Démocratie Québec party in 2017, Guérette, an architect, has become a vocal opponent of the tramway project. She joins incumbent mayor Bruno Marchand, Villeneuve, Hamad, Transition Québec leader Jackie Smith and Respect Citoyens leader Stéphane Lachance on the lengthening list of candidates. Municipal elections will be held across Quebec on Nov. 2.

With files from Ruby Pratka, LJI reporter

Hamad recruits two sitting councillors for City Hall team Read More »

First step of Promenade Champlain Phase 4 to feature pedestrian bridge

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

First step of Promenade Champlain Phase 4 to feature pedestrian bridge

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The Coalition Avenir Québec government is moving ahead with the fourth and final phase of the Promenade Samuel-De Champlain shoreline redevelopment plan.

Phase 4, spanning from Rue D’Estimauville to Montmorency Falls, would complete the project, which began as a legacy gift to Quebec City from the Quebec government to mark its 400th anniversary in 2008.

The 8.1 kilometre length of the final phase is longer than the combined total of the first three phases, running from the bridges to the yacht club along the promenade. Phase 3, completed in 2023, comprises a beach and pool area.

Phase 4 itself comprises redevelopment of five zones in separate stages.

Jonatan Julien, the minister for infrastructure and minister responsible for the capital region, made the announcement June 10 at Le Pivot community centre in Beauport, alongside the vice president of the city executive committee, Coun. Pierre-Luc Lachance (Saint-Roch-Saint-Sauveur); Montmorency MNA Jean-François Simard; and André Roy, director general of the Commission de la Capitale Nationale du Québec (CCNQ), which manages Promenade Samuel-De Champlain.

The Phase 4 plan was selected from three consortia who were finalists in an “ideation” com- petition to stimulate concepts for the projects. A total of 32 teams from around the world submitted concepts. The winner is a Montreal-based group comprising Atelier L’Abri, Écoterritoire, Ghost and Le Picbois.

The centrepiece of the first stage of Phase 4 will be a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists to be built between Rue D’Estimauville and the Baie de Beauport, where a privately managed beach area has been in place for several years. It will pass over tracks for a CN railway marshalling yard.

The bridge, Julien said, “is the first step toward enhancing this fantastic site. This ambitious project will improve active mobility and enhance the quality of life for residents.”

Julien said he hopes to see the pedestrian bridge completed next year, with $5 million already invested in preparing plans. As for other components of the project, Julien said he was not in a position to provide a specific timetable, except that it would take several years. No overall budget has been drawn up either.

Besides the D’Estimauville sector, the four other sectors are defined as Rivière Beauport, Boul. des Chutes, the former cement works and Étang de la Côte.

A key component of the project is the transformation of the Autoroute Montmorency in the target sector into an “urban boulevard” making the shoreline more accessible and reducing the impact of a freeway.

The objective of the project contains five principles, as outlined in briefing documents: “Reclaim the shoreline and balance mobility, preserve existing biodiversity and natural environments, regenerate and rewild the shoreline, reconnect neighbourhoods to the shoreline, and create a resilience laboratory for urban development.”

Although CCNQ is the lead agency on the Promenade Samuel-De Champlain project, other partners include the ministry of transport, the Port of Quebec and the Quebec City administration.

Details of the project are available on the CCNQ website.

First step of Promenade Champlain Phase 4 to feature pedestrian bridge Read More »

TRAM TRACKER: Prep work ramps up; consortia compete for big contracts

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , ,

TRAM TRACKER: Prep work ramps up; consortia compete for big contracts

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

There will be several visible signs and a foretaste of the level of disruption over the coming months as preliminary work for the tramway project ramps up. At the same time, the selection process for principal contractors for the project has reached an important milestone.

Last week the city unveiled a list of worksites mostly along Bouls. René-Lévesque and Laurier, as well as in Saint-Roch, involving the relocation and modernization of underground networks for water, natural gas and telecommunications.

A few examples of the projects are the installation of valves for the water supply network on streets perpendicular to Boul. René-Lévesque as well as near 1ère Avenue in Limoilou and Charlesbourg; reconstruction of three access shafts for telecommunications networks at Avenues Holland, Brown and Cartier; and creation of a temporary connection zone at Parc Victoria and Rue de la Maréchaussée.

The city says it will inform affected residents and businesses as work rolls out and take measures to “maintain access to homes and businesses, ensure mobility and safe travel in neighbourhoods and reduce nuisances, such as noise and dust, caused by construction sites.”

Any questions about these projects can be directed to the city’s citizens’ relations centre by calling 311.

Meanwhile, the process to build the actual tramway net- work has taken a leap forward with the selection of consortia that will bid on the two biggest contracts of the project.

The Caisse de Dépôt et Placement de Québec infrastructure division (CDPQ Infra), which the Quebec government has commissioned to manage the tramway project, has picked three consortia of companies each to bid on the contracts for civil construction and for systems.

In a June 5 release, CDPQ Infra describes the civil work as including “the excavation of the tunnel under Parliament Hill, construction of buildings, construction and repair of bridges, viaducts and other engineering structures.”

The systems contract covers “railway tracks, traction power systems, as well as electrical, communication and road and railway signalling systems.

The six qualified consortia will have until the end of the year to submit proposals for evaluation by project manage- ment experts. Once the winning bidders are chosen early next year, the implementation stage will be set in motion towards a 2027 start for full- blown construction. The system is targeted for completion in 2033.

Some companies – Pomerleau and AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin), for example – are contenders for both contracts.

Phase 1 of the $7.6-billion TramCité project comprises 19 kilometres of track for electric trains, with 29 stations from Cap-Rouge to Charlesbourg.

TRAM TRACKER: Prep work ramps up; consortia compete for big contracts Read More »

Developer vows to limit inconvenience in adding 10 floors to Grande Allée building

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

Developer vows to limit inconvenience in adding 10 floors to Grande Allée building

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Work could get underway soon on a project to add 10 storeys to an apartment building on Grande Allée that already has 11 floors.

The city is expected to grant approval in the coming weeks for Bildodeau Immobilier to raise the roof on 153-155 Grande Allée Est, a building that was completed in 2020. Bilodeau also owns the apartment building behind the new one, Le Montmorency, on Avenue Wilfrid-Laurier.

As for the seeming negative impacts of a construction site on top of a building housing several hundred tenants, the developers say, “During construction, several elements are being put in place to mitigate inconveniences.”

In an email exchange with the QCT, Éric Bilodeau, general manager of the family-owned company, said the building had been designed with an addition of up to 12 stories in mind.

“The structure, configuration and anchors are already installed and planned for this purpose. The structure has the capacity to accommodate the additional 10 floors without any worries,” Bilodeau said. “The same is true for the interior installations, as a third elevator shaft already exists and is ready to accommodate the third elevator, among other things.”

As for the actual construction, Bilodeau said the impact will be contained largely by the building work going on “at height.” This will limit “the footprint on public roads and sidewalks.”

He said, “A protection will be installed over a width of about 10 feet, all around the building from the 13th floor, during exterior construction. This protection will make all balconies accessible and walk- ing on the sidewalk possible. A demarcated sidewalk will be installed, with open containers and a construction flagger will be present on site as much as necessary to assist with crossing and traffic.”

Bilodeau said steps will be taken to keep Rue Galipeau, which borders the site on the west, open to traffic and pedestrians. Construction workers’ vehicles will be parked further away at designated lots.

As for the usual convoy of de- livery trucks for a construction site, Bilodeau said a system will be in place so that “trucks will have to wait to be called in turn, from a parking lot that will be established on our Boul. René-Lévesque property.”

Because there is no excavation work to be done, issues of noise and dust will be limited, he said.

Another mitigating feature, Bilodeau said, would be that the usual trailers for construction workers will be cantilevered over the build- ing. “Movement between the ground floor and the building will therefore be limited. They will use the fire escape leading to Rue Galipeau, but will have no access to the interior of the upper floors.”

Bilodeau said, “We intend to make this construction a success both in its method of execution and in the final product.”

Among the company’s other properties are the Woodfield- Sillery condo-apartments and the recently acquired Catholic diocese building and land on Boul. René-Lévesque.

Developer vows to limit inconvenience in adding 10 floors to Grande Allée building Read More »

Geophysicist and bell-ringer Micha Horswill runs for Transition Québec

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

Geophysicist and bell-ringer Micha Horswill runs for Transition Québec

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

If being a geophysicist on city council wouldn’t be a first, Micha Horswill might well be the first church bell-ringer with a council seat, should she get elected in November.

Horswill, who on June 5 launched her campaign for the Cap-aux-Diamants council seat at a bar on Rue Saint-Jean, is a woman of many interests, now including municipal politics.

Her day job is as a research professional with Université Laval’s geophysical instrumentation group, but she still finds time to attend neighbourhood council meetings, make TikTok videos about “the city’s hidden gems,” and, yes, ring church bells.

As she explained in an interview prior to her launch party, friends had encouraged her to consider a city council run, which she initially rebuffed, but the idea “grew on me and I kept thinking about it and I said ‘why not?’ I was born here, I live here … and I have ideas. So, I decided to jump into the pool.”

Horswill, 31, said she only knew Transition Québec lead- er and Limoilou Coun. Jackie Smith from media reports, but she “loved” the social and environmental values of the party. She said the municipal politics bug took hold thanks to her experiences at neighbourhood council meetings.

One of those experiences was pushing for the creation of a mural on a side street off Rue Saint-Jean; the effort was a success and taught her a lot about how things get done in a city bureaucracy.

As she says on her Facebook page: “I’m in love with Quebec City–and I dream of it. I see it bigger, more vibrant, more avant-garde and more fair. I allow myself to dream, but I don’t just have my head in the clouds.

“I have my feet firmly planted, with my geophysicist’s perspective, which requires rigour, consistency and pragmatism. I’m trained to analyze complex systems, read between the layers and find the root causes of problems. I want to bring that perspective to the city as well.” Though her father is an anglophone from British Columbia who moved to Quebec City when he was young, Horswill was raised and educated in French. She said she learned her (fluent) English in school and perfected it in the years she worked in Europe, where “everything was in English.”

She recalls a high school rivalry with Quebec High School, but she said, “Now I’ve made peace with QHS and accepted that my basketball team wasn’t exactly the best.”

Her more recent interaction with the city’s anglophone community was with bell-ringers, a largely English-speaking group. She got involved about two years ago when she heard the bells being rung at the former St. Matthew’s Church on Rue Saint-Jean (now a public library, Bibliothèque Claire-Martin), was intrigued, and after some internet searching, found the change-ringing group and signed up.

“I discovered a nice community that is very vibrant,” she said. She was happy to participate when the city recently welcomed change-ringers from around the world.

“We’re the only city in Canada that has two bell-ringing towers,” Horswill said with some pride. The other bells are in the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in the Old City, where she lives.

Horswill is proud of the his- tory of her city to the extent she highlights many aspects through brief videos on her TikTok channel. One of them features the top three libraries in the Old City, one of which is that of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec at the Morrin Centre.

Horswill said it “pains her to see” not enough local residents live in the Old City. “It’s the birthplace of an entire nation. People should be living there, we should see children, neighbours.”

She said one measure to encourage people to live in the Old City would be to improve public transportation. “Having a walled city is great for tourists, but it keeps [residents] captive.”

Among other issues on her agenda are homelessness in the central city, the lack of trees in the Saint-Jean- Baptiste neighbourhood and the lack of a large grocery store for Old City residents.

Horswill said, “I think I will win,” although she does have competition in the form of Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc, the incumbent councillor from the ruling Québec Forte et Fière (QFF) party and member of the executive committee for heritage, planning, tourism and quality of life in the Old City.

QFF has announced candidates for all but two of the 21 council seats. Two notable additions to the party’s slate are Marchand’s media attachée Élainie Lepage, running in Saint-Roch–Saint-Sauveur, and Manouchka Blanchet, who was actually elected in 2021 in Beau- port’s Sainte-Thérèse-de-Lisieux district as the running mate of Jean-François Gosselin, the unsuccessful mayoral candidate for the now defunct Québec 21 party.

Sam Hamad’s Leadership Québec party added three more candidates to its slate last week: Mégy Gagné in Val-Bélair; Donald Gagnon in Louis-XIV and former Équipe Labeaume candidate Émilie Robitaille in Neufchâtel-Lebourgneuf.

Municipal elections are held across the province on Nov. 2.

Geophysicist and bell-ringer Micha Horswill runs for Transition Québec Read More »

Hamad announces first two candidates for City Hall campaign

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

Hamad announces first two candidates for City Hall campaign

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Mayoral candidate Sam Hamad introduced the first two candidates for his Leadership Québec party, both of whom have backgrounds working within the provincial government.

At a news conference held in a crowded chauffeur’s cottage at Domaine Cataraqui on May 29, Hamad said Justine Savard and Jean-Stéphane Bernard “embody the strong, unifying leadership we want to offer the citizens of Quebec City. They each have an impressive track record, deep roots in their communities, and are ready to fully invest in improving the quality of life in their neighbourhoods.”

Savard, a lawyer who has worked in the office of Coalition Avenir Québec ministers Sonia LeBel and the late Nadine Girard, ran for the party in the 2022 election in the Montreal riding of Viau.

Savard will be running in the Beauport district of Sainte-Thérèse-de-Lisieux, a seat currently held by executive committee member and former mayoral candidate Jean-François Gosselin, who has announced he will not run again for city council.

Bernard, a CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence graduate who went on to earn degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP) and Université Laval, is a former deputy minister of international relations and Canadian relations, who has also served as Quebec’s representative in Washington and New England.

Bernard will run in the Saint-Louis–Sillery district, currently held by executive committee member Maude Mercier Larouche, who has also said she is not running again.

Bernard, a resident of Sillery since he was a child, said the leap into politics is “just a continuity of what I’ve been doing for the last 30 years, working for the people of Quebec City, working for the people of the district that I wish to represent.”

In an interview with the QCT, he said he is “honoured, to be honest, to have this op- portunity to work with some- one who’s the leader that Quebec City needs.”

Savard, for her part, said she got back into elected politics at the municipal level, because “I’m a working mom and I’m really, really fond of my community and I saw a couple of things in the city that weren’t sitting well for me. So I decided that may- be with Sam Hamad we can change the course of things.”

Asked what she learned as a provincial candidate three years ago, Simard said, “I think I’m a better listener now,” having had the experience of knocking on doors to hear what citizens have to say.

During the news conference, neither candidate was willing to venture a specific opinion on the tramway project, whereas Hamad, who op- poses the plan, said he would release his party’s detailed platform “before the [summer] holidays.”

Hamad also responded to questions about the CAQ government’s “third link” bridge project, the location of which is supposed to be announced in June. He downplayed a comment he had made previously in favour of a bridge to the west near the current spans.

He said, “I will let the specialists decide technically where it should go, with acceptability and [the least] in- convenience” for the citizens of the city.

Hamad, incumbent mayor and Québec Forte et Fière Leader Bruno Marchand, Transition Québec Leader Jackie Smith and Québec d’abord Leader Claude Villeneuve are the declared candidates for city hall so far. Respect Citoyens Leader Stéphane Lachance has also said he plans to run for mayor, although recent reporting by Radio-Canada has cast doubt on whether he meets the residency requirement.

Municipal elections will be held across Quebec on Nov. 2.

Hamad announces first two candidates for City Hall campaign Read More »

‘Unique’ school for deaf students plans $7-million expansion  

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

‘Unique’ school for deaf students plans $7-million expansion  

Peter Black

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

It’s called the only school of its kind in North America, dedicated to giving francophone children with hearing and speech impairments a chance to get a normal education and have a fulfilling life.

The École Oraliste, located on Boul. René-Lévesque across the street from Collège Saint-Charles-Garnier, is a victim of its own success in providing specialized education for deaf children. 

The school’s board has embarked on an expansion project to allow it to accommodate dozens more students whom it currently has to refuse for lack of space. Students at the school are from four to 18 years old, with either a hearing disability or a non-deafness-related speech impairment. 

The Fondation Sourdine unveiled the $7-million project earlier this month at a fundraising gala which featured some 59 of the school’s 76 students hopping on stage and performing roles at full voice.

Foundation executive director Sandra Ferguson, herself the mother of a 22-year-old deaf son now completing studies in administration at Université Laval, said she was moved by the moment when students received a standing ovation for their performance.

“They get confident. ‘I can do that.’ They realize it’s possible to do something,” instead of facing rejection or ridicule for their disability.

The foundation has been working on an expansion project for the past three years, and has architects’ designs and engineering plans ready to go. 

The school, founded by a group of researchers at Université Laval, was authorized by the Quebec government in 2002. In 2012, the foundation acquired the building where the Institut St-Joseph private primary school was located. That school moved into a new building on the grounds of the college. 

Symptomatic of its need for expansion, the École Oraliste has been renting space at Collège Garnier to accommodate some 35 students. The maximum class size is four to six students. 

“This is the next step,” Ferguson said of the expansion plan. “Now people know the school better, know that this is a unique place for those kids. Since the past five years, 95 per cent of the kids who come [here] go back to a regular school with success.”

Ferguson has been lobbying government officials to obtain a substantial financial commitment to the project, but faces the same situation of financial scarcity as public schools. Regardless, she is confident the government will recognize the unique role the school plays, particularly with public schools struggling to provide services for students with additional needs.

The school receives funding from the Quebec government per student, including an amount for specialized education, but Ferguson said there is no government program for infrastructure for such a school.

She said, “We’ll cross our fingers” that the Ministry of Education will come through with funding that will encourage other private donors to contribute. Should government funding come through promptly, she said, “We’re ready to go.”

The building would be erected along Ave. Joffre in a section of the current parking lot and play area. The foundation has acquired an adjacent property on Ave. Cardinal-Rouleau to give it space for an expanded play area and courtyard.

The addition will contain 10 classrooms, a library and other multi-purpose spaces, bringing the classes together under one roof and boosting the capacity of the school to 125 students, a 40 per cent increase.

Ferguson said the school is having to refuse more and more students as awareness of its success spreads. Last year, 24 students were turned away, and so far this year, more than 30 have been denied a space.

“Our objective,” Ferguson said, “is to make these kids future contributors to society.”

With the end of the school term around the corner in June, Ferguson said the students “are not happy to go. They want to stay here. They don’t want to go because for the first time, it’s fun to learn.” 

‘Unique’ school for deaf students plans $7-million expansion   Read More »

City signs deals to clarify TramCité project management

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

TRAM TRACKER: City signs deals to clarify TramCité project management

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

It may still be many months before any tramway track is laid, but the city has now put in place an agreement on how the project will be managed going forward.

In an apolitical statement released May 22, the city’s executive committee announced “two agreements representing important operational and administrative milestones for the advancement of the TramCité project.”

The agreements between the city, in co-ordination with the Réseau de transport de la capitale (RTC) and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec infrastructure division (CDPQ Infra), set out joint responsibilities in four areas.

These include collaborative decision-making, allocation of roles and responsibilities in the planning phase and beyond, interface management to ensure co-ordination on technical aspects, and commitment to the community to “maintain regular communication with citizens and to implement measures to mitigate the impacts of the work on daily life.” The statement notes that the city and the RTC “retain responsibilities related to their expertise (acquisitions; work on urban and municipal technical networks, operating and mobility systems; project manager support activities).” A second agreement, between the city, the RTC and the government of Quebec, spells out the details of financing of the project regarding “activities and works during the planning phase, which runs until June 2027.”

Some preparatory work for the $7.6-billion project will be underway this year, and then ramp up in 2026, to make ready for the full-blown construction phase in 2027, lasting five years.

The all-electric tramway system will run a total of 19 kilometres, with 19 stations connecting the Le Gendre, Sainte-Foy, Université Laval, Parliament Hill, Saint-Roch and Charlesbourg sectors.

Overall management of the project, as per a December 2024 agreement, is in the hands of CDPQ Infra, as decided by the Quebec government.

City signs deals to clarify TramCité project management Read More »

Two 20-storey towers on Grande Allée among city’s housing surge 

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

Two 20-storey towers on Grande Allée among city’s housing surge

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The city administration is accelerating approvals of 18 residential projects in many sectors of the city, including two towers on Grande Allée, aimed at addressing what it identifies as a looming housing crisis.

Armed with statistics showing significant population growth in the coming years, Mayor Bruno Marchand announced at a May 20 news conference the fast-tracking of construction that will create some 2,850 housing units.

The projects are to receive approval from city council over the next two council meetings, and be under construction over the next year. Some 420 of the units are to be designated social housing.

Marchand, making the announcement at the Videotron Centre, said, “The housing crisis in Quebec City requires us to make a major push for housing creation, not only to meet current needs, but also to anticipate future needs.”

A chart contained in a presentation at the news conference showed the city’s population grew by 40,000 people over the past three years, an increase of 2.4 per cent.

Coun. Marie-Pierre Boucher, executive committee member responsible for housing, said Bill 31, which gives municipalities the power to ignore some regulations to encourage the construction of housing, also allows the city to “require construction conditions that ensure a distinctive architectural quality as well as the implementation of innovative and sustainable features, among other things, in terms of development, mobility and planning.”

She said the units being jump-started, after negotiations with developers, are part of the city’s grand plan for housing, which aims to build 80,000 new units by 2040.

Part of the criteria for approval of the projects was their proximity to urban transit services, including the proposed tramway.

Of the 18 projects, with a total estimated value of $819 million, the one destined to create the most units is that planned for 3155 Chemin des Quatre-Bourgeois, a site now occupied by a deconsecrated church, where a 401-unit structure is to be built.

Two of the projects are on Grande Allée, and both of them have controversial aspects. One of them will be a new building on what is now an empty lot on the corner of Rue de l’Amérique-Française and kitty-corner from the Hôtel Le Concorde. The long-deconsecrated Saint-Coeur- de-Marie church had been on the site since 1920 until it was demolished in 2019 due to its deteriorating condition.

The property owners, Société Immobilière Lessard, had proposed several residential projects for the prime location, but the city refused each as being too high for that site. The developers’ latest proposal, a nine-storey parking garage, was also rejected, and the stalemate ended up in the courts.

Now the city has dropped its opposition to height restrictions for the site and will authorize a 20-storey residential building which could be under construction as of next year. The building would contain 200 residential units, according to the city.

Loïk Lessard, president of the development company, declined to comment on the project pending a public consultation session scheduled for June 16. All 18 projects will be presented to the public over the coming weeks, with details available on the city’s website.

A few blocks west, the city is prepared to approve a 10-storey addition to the new 11-storey apartment building at 155 Grande Allée Est, adding 74 units to the existing 150 units.

According to a building resident who did not want to comment publicly, the developers, Bilodeau Immobilier, informed tenants of the impending project at a recent meeting. A request to the company for comment had not been answered as of press time.

Bilodeau also owns the building behind the Grande Allée property, the Montmorency, as well as several other rental buildings around the city. The company recently purchased the Catholic diocese’s property on Boul. René-Lévesque with plans for a residential complex.

The city’s acceleration of these particular housing projects did not receive unanimous plaudits. Transition Québec leader and mayoral candidate Jackie Smith, the councillor for the Limoilou district, said Marchand had “sold his soul to developers.”

Official Opposition and Québec d’abord leader, mayoral candidate and councillor for the Maizerets-Lairet district Claude Villeneuve said the jump-started housing initiative smelled of “pre-election panic.”

Marchand denied charges of “giving the keys to the city to developers.” He said, “If cities start building housing themselves, it is a financial disaster. This is not our level of expertise, this is not our level of competence. We must work with people who have this level of competence and who take the risks.”

Two 20-storey towers on Grande Allée among city’s housing surge  Read More »

Irish ambassador Concannon makes official visit to Quebec capital

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

Irish ambassador Concannon makes official visit to Quebec capital

Peter Black

peterblack@qctonline.com

To put a twist on a familiar song, Irish eyes seem to be smiling on a new relationship between Ireland and Canada, a bond that could lead to greater trade opportunities.

So says John Concannon, Ireland’s new ambassador to Canada, who made his first official visit to meet Quebec government officials in the provincial capital on May 20.

The visit, during which he met several ministers, toured a local robotics company run by an Irishman and did the rounds of local media, including a Radio-Canada interview en français, was actually his third trip to Quebec City since he presented his credentials to Governor General Mary Simon in October.

Concannon, accompanied by Quebec City honorary Irish consul Bryan O’Gallagher, talked with the QCT over coffee at an Old City restaurant about the opportunities for co-operation between Canada and Ireland in light of “huge geopolitical changes happening.”

The energetic Concannon comes to his first diplomatic posting fresh from leading the Global Ireland initiative, a 2018 program to expand the country’s presence around the world, opening some 27 missions, including three in Canada.

Bringing a background in business to government, Con- cannon has worked as a senior diplomat in the foreign service, with the national tourism bureau, the department of culture and heritage and in the Taoiseach’s (prime minister’s) office. The father of three daughters with his wife Mary, he has also served as vice- president of his alma mater, the University of Galway.

Concannon sums up his background, saying, “What all these things have in common is the promoting of Ireland.” When the position of Irish ambassador to Canada became open last year, he was considered “a good fit” and offered the job. So far, he can report “it’s been a really remarkable and really, really positive experience, I have to say.”

Promoting trade, of course, is at the top of the ambassador’s agenda, and he hopes to boost further trade between Ireland and Canada that has already seen a sharp rise since Canada signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union (EU) in 2017.

Although Ireland is one of several countries that has yet to officially ratify the agree- ment – Concannon says the new Irish government is committed to it – trade between Canada and Ireland has soared from $4 billion a year to $16 billion since CETA was signed.

Concannon notes Ireland is Canada’s 10th biggest investor, with some 350 Irish businesses with operations here. In turn, Canada has about 100 companies with European headquarters in Ireland.

He said Ireland has everything it takes for Canadian businesses looking towards Europe for opportunities for expansion – “a business-friendly environment, attractive tax regime, really good talent and English-speaking.”

He said, “If you’re thinking about Europe, we can be pathfinders to help explain the bureaucratic, the legislative, the legal dimensions.” Concannon’s new mission as ambassador to Canada coincides with the rise to power of a prime minister who has not only Irish roots, but Irish citizenship – until he recently renounced it – as well as his British passport.

Concannon, who has met Mark Carney on several occasions, said the prime minister “very strongly identifies with his Irish roots, and we are immensely proud of him, and we very much see him as one of the family.”

The ambassador notes Carney’s first public appearance as prime minister was to march in the St. Patrick’s parade in Montreal on March 16, which happened to be his 60th birthday. “It was electric. The love on the streets was tangible.”

After marching in Montreal’s St. Patrick’s parade with Carney, Concannon came to Quebec City the following weekend to take part in the city’s own Irish parade and celebrations.

Though Concannon has now visited Quebec City three times since he became ambassador, he will be returning to the region soon for an event at the Grosse Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site.

He describes the welcome people in Quebec City and Montreal accorded to tens of thousands of desperate and sick Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine beginning in 1847 as “just a gargantuan act of compassion and humanity.”

Concannon will travel to the site on June 11 to place pairs of bronze shoes at the island memorial. The shoes were cast from those found in a bundle in an abandoned cottage in Roscommon, Ireland, as part of a program called the National Famine Way.

Barely six months into the posting, Concannon is full of optimism for future Irish-Canadian relations. “It’s a time of great change in the world, but it’s also a time of great opportunity – and we’re up for it, and we will always have Canada’s back, and we see ourselves as great, great friends.”

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Bus passenger island will put people at risk, safety expert says

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , ,

Bus passenger island will put people at risk, safety expert says

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

A traffic safety expert and former city councillor is sounding the alarm about a bus stop island now under construction on Chemin Ste-Foy at the intersection with Ave. Brown.

Paul Mackey has been picketing the site almost daily since April 28, when city workers began building a “boarding bay” or quai d’embarquement pour les arrêts d’autobus, as it’s known in French.

According to a city presentation on the project, the objectives of the “boarding bays” are to ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists, maintain universal accessibility to bus stops, limit conflicts between cyclists and buses by avoiding encroachment into the bike lane, and limit conflicts between buses and vehicular traffic when merging and disengaging while stopped.

Mackey told the QCT in an on- site interview that the structures violate safety norms and put at risk students, senior citizens and people with visual impairments wanting to cross the street.

“The project itself has some good objectives,” Mackey said. “It’s to not have cyclists have to wait behind stopped buses. The project is to transfer the bus stop onto an island between the bike lane and the traffic lane. But that raises a number of issues.”

Among those issues, he said, is that “cyclists approaching the intersection will not see the pedestrians, because the stopped articulated bus will block sight lines.” He said cyclists often do not follow traffic signals and may run the red light, putting elementary school students crossing from École Anne-Hébert, for example, at risk.

Mackey said visually impaired people wanting to cross at the intersection will also be at risk. At an information session on the project held on April 22, he asked city officials whether “a blind person on the bus going west and heading to École Anne-Hébert would have to cross the bike path when getting off the bus and recross the bike path at the intersection. The answer was yes. The blind person will be put at risk twice within a short time. There are no tactile warning strips to be installed at the intersection itself.”

He said the association for the blind in Victoria, B.C. sued over a similar boarding island design and won, resulting in a moratorium.

Mackey said he has also raised concerns about the width of the boarding islands, which is 1.6 metres under the city’s plans. He said the standard, according to many sources and guides, is 2.4 metres. The lesser width, he said, poses a hazard for the boarding of passengers in wheelchairs.

With construction well advanced on the installation, Mackey said the city shows no indication of recognizing his warnings and suggestions. “I think the consequences are so serious that there’s not really any choice” for the city to make changes.

“The city council says, ‘well, it’s a pilot project, we’ll adjust as we go along,’ and I said that’s not really an appropriate response, because you’ll make changes if there have been incidents – and we don’t want incidents.”

Once the island on the north side of the intersection is complete, an island is to be installed on the south side. Eventually, the city plans to install islands at several other intersections along the Chemin Ste-Foy bike path.

The city said in its presentation that it chose the Ave. Brown intersection for the pilot project because of the “ease of implementation [and the] opportunity to secure an area with high traffic of vulnerable users (school zone). The project was developed by city teams, in collaboration with the Réseau de Transport de la Capitale (RTC) and the consultation table on universal accessibility.”

A series of consultations and assessments is planned to evaluate the impact of the pilot project.

Mackey said, “There’s tons of problems with this project, and if it stays in effect, it’s going to be a safety problem for years on end.”

The QCT requested a response to Mackey’s concerns from city officials and did not receive a response by press time.

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