TRAM TRACKER
Marchand embraces Caisse transit report: ‘It’s time to act’
Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
Scarcely containing his relief and satisfaction, Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand declared, “The time for hesitation is over; the time of division too; the time to take action is now.”
Marchand was responding to the Caisse de dêpot et placement du Québec Infra (CDPQ Infra) report giving a resounding thumbs-up to the essentials of the tramway project he has been piloting since his election in 2021, which was in the works for many years previously under former mayor Régis Labeaume.
The day before the June 12 release of CDPQ Infra’s much-anticipated Plan CITE (Circuit integré de transport express), the mayor was briefed on the massive report, which contained the conclusions of CDPQ Infra experts who examined some 1,000 studies and heard from 179 interested parties.
The mayor rejected suggestions by reporters that the Caisse report is a personal victory for him, after the CAQ government had put the tramway project on hold in November and called on the Caisse to study transit needs in the greater Quebec region.
Asked by the QCT how he felt personally when he first opened the report and saw it endorsed the tramway, Marchand said, “I don’t give a damn. My only goal is to build a city and it’s not personal … you have to think about 500,000 people and not about you.”
Marchand said, “The city agrees entirely with the report” saying the Caisse recognized “the immense needs” of the region and “could not be more clear” in its call for a multi-faceted approach to addressing those needs. The mayor said he was particularly pleased to see the Plan CITE address service for residents in all corners of the city.
He said it doesn’t do any good to regret whatever time was lost in the tramway construction schedule while the Caisse undertook its study. He said construction could resume quickly because so much preparatory work had already been done by the tramway project office.
He also said he had no issue with CDPQ Infra taking charge of the project, and had spoken already with Caisse head Charles Émond.
In other reaction, Opposition and Québec d’abord leader Coun. Claude Villeneuve, whose party has long supported the tramway, said, “Let’s stop fooling around and let’s do it quickly,” saying it’s time to end the “dithering” that’s wasted time and money.
Villeneuve noted the tramway route to Charlesbourg the Caisse proposed is the same as that advanced by the Labeaume administration in 2018.
“With the project presented in 2018, in two years (2026), we could have had a functional tram at the price before the pandemic when it was still possible to eat at a restaurant for less than $20,” Villeneuve said.
Transition Québec Leader and Limoilou Coun. Jackie Smith said in a statement, “While I do not agree with the mayor’s decisions or way of doing things … [i]n this matter I will remain an ally and I invite everyone to leave partisanship and petty politics aside, in the name of the best interests of our fellow citizens. We have wasted enough time.”
Nora Loreto, founder of the Québec désire son Tramway group, said, “The report is a slam dunk. It’s everything we wanted and more.” She was particularly pleased about the Lebourgneuf tramway extension in Phase 3.
As a political move, Loreto said, “Frankly, I’m shocked the CAQ put it to the Caisse without having an idea what it was going to suggest. This is the worst news for the CAQ. The delays cost billions. They’re going to wear this going into the next election.”
Meanwhile, Quebec Conservative Party Leader Éric Duhaime is calling for a referendum on the choice of a tramway system for the region.
In a news release, he said, “The Legault government cannot move forward with the largest investment in the history of the Quebec City region without democratic legitimacy. If there were elections today, [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau, [Premier François] Legault and Marchand would lose power. All three of them are at the end of their regime and elections are planned for next year and the following year.”