It is the Legault and Trudeau governments that should have the burden of “adequately” financing the operation and development of public transportation, judges the Quebec Federation of Workers (FTQ), which calls for putting aside “the games policies” of higher levels with the cities.
“The richest of the three political actors, let’s face it, has never been the municipalities. These are the governments. And they must lead by example. It is up to the State to finance most of the bill,” judges the secretary general of the FTQ, Denis Bolduc, in an interview with The Press.
His group will hold a national forum this Thursday on the financing of collective and public transportation, in downtown Montreal. The objective: to demonstrate the strength of the “current consensus in Quebec in favor of public and sustainable financing” of public transport.
No financing agreement has yet been reached between the metropolis’s transporters and the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault. She said a few weeks ago that she wanted to resolve the matter “before summer”, which theoretically begins this Friday, June 21. An announcement therefore seems imminent.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
The Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault
The government offer mentioned behind the scenes is 200 million, or around 70% of the “cyclical” deficit attributable to tariff revenues which melted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Faced with a shortfall of 561 million, transport companies are demanding a minimum of 421 million.
But according to Mr. Bolduc, this is insufficient. “We understand the political games, but ultimately, we will have to agree on a formula to increase supply at the best possible price. It cannot rest solely on the backs of municipalities. And increasing prices would put us into a vicious circle which would discourage users from boarding,” he explains.
The mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, is scheduled to speak at the Forum, as are several presidents of transportation companies. Disabled artist and community worker Rosalie Campeau will also give a testimony on the lack of measures in terms of universal accessibility. “It is a right, especially when we are so limited in our travel, to have a suitable transportation service. We depend on that to live a normal life,” says Ms. Campeau.
A long-standing issue
As early as 1989, recalls its general secretary, the FTQ denounced the underfunding and “disengagement” of governments in public transport. “At the time, we were already saying that urban transportation needed to be promoted and adequately financed. It’s been 35 years, imagine, and we’re still talking about it. »
In a conference a little earlier, Wednesday before the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM), Mayor Valérie Plante deplored “the unfortunate tendency” that Quebec has “of not making new projects, while in every city, year after year, we add a station, we keep the tunnel boring machine, we use it for another project.”
“We didn’t do it here. And unfortunately, today, we are in a supply deficit. People want to travel by public transport, but there are no options,” she denounced.