tramway

TRAM TRACKER: CAQ mandates Caisse Infra to build tramway Phase 1; RTC to run it

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The Coalition Avenir Québec government, under political and time pressure, has given the green light to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Infra (CDPQ Infra) to kickstart Quebec City’s paused tramway project.

The decision came after a regular cabinet meeting on Oct. 9, communicated officially via a carefully worded CDPQ Infra news release, saying the pension plan agency “today accepted a new mandate from the government of Quebec to plan the first phase of the CITÉ plan and set up the organization required to ensure the proper development of the next stages of the tramway project.”

CITÉ stands for Circuit intégré de transport express, the name CDPQ Infra gave to the three-phase project it recommended in a study, released in June, of transportation needs in the Quebec City region the CAQ government ordered last fall.

The release notes: “CDPQ Infra will soon confirm the composition of the project team, which will include all the expertise needed for the mandate to move forward.”

The first phase would be a 15-kilometre tramway line linking Cap-Rouge and Boul. Laurier in the west with Saint- Roch and Charlesbourg in the east. An expansion of the South Shore (Lévis) bus service is also in the plan.

Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault told reporters after the cabinet meeting that CDPQ Infra is “being given the keys to planning Phase 1 of the tramway, so this is a very important step. This is confirmation that we are moving forward and taking the next step.”

While CDPQ Infra will be in charge of building the tram- way, its actual operation will be the responsibility of the Réseau de Transport de la Capitale (RTC), which manages the city’s existing transit network.

Coun. Maude Mercier Larouche, city executive committee member and RTC president, said in a statement, “We are pleased to see that the tramway project is progressing. … Our teams have all the experience and expertise needed to bring this crucial transportation project for Quebec City to life.”

The government mandate to CDPQ Infra contains a Dec. 15 deadline to file a final draft agreement containing more details on the roles of various players as well as the financial structure for the project.

Some political commentators see the deadline as hard to meet and a potential escape hatch for the CAQ government to delay and abandon the project with the prospect of a Conservative federal government on the horizon.

Québec Solidaire MNA Étienne Grandmont, who represents the Quebec City riding of Taschereau, said via an Oct. 9 news release, “Confirming partners is one thing, but I’m still waiting for the funding to be secured. The Dec. 15 deadline worries me; it’s the minister’s hand on the plug, and I fear she’s ready to pull the trigger.”

Limoilou Coun. and Transition Québec Leader Jackie Smith said, “We must immediately get the teams back to work by resuming the work that was interrupted a year ago. We want to see the funding promised for our city translate into new infrastructure as soon as possible.”

Nora Loreto, co-founder of Québec désire son tramway, told the QCT, “We’re very happy to see movement on the tramway file and look forward to this project being managed by the RTC.”

Mayor Bruno Marchand, whose revised higher budget for the tramway triggered the CAQ’s intervention, made a brief statement applauding the project restart. “I am delighted that the Quebec government is confirming with this gesture the implementation of the CITÉ plan. This is an essential project for the Quebec City region in the context of very strong population growth. We cannot wage an effective war on congestion without investing in the development of public transportation,” he said.