Public transit, land decontamination, economic development: in four years, the only two members of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) on the island of Montreal consider that they have done “great things”, especially in the east end of Montreal, where the Legault government hopes to make gains in the next election.
Posted at 12:08 p.m.
“After four years and a pandemic, we can be very proud of our government’s record in Montreal. The indicators are green. The east is becoming an engine of development for the entire metropolis. It was the missing piece, ”hammered Tuesday the minister responsible for the Metropolis and deputy for Pointe-aux-Trembles, Chantal Rouleau, during a press briefing.
Since 2018, the minister and the deputy for Bourget, Richard Campeau, have been the only two CAQ representatives on the island of Montreal. “With two elected officials, we managed to do great things. Imagine with more elected officials still on the territory of Montreal, ”slipped Mme Roll on this.
Mr. Campeau maintains that the east end of Montreal and the metropolis now have “a renewed pride”. “This pride is primarily economic,” he said, saying he hopes that Quebec “joins Ontario’s standard of living” and that one day the province “does not need the Canadian equalization”. “We should be able to pay our own expenses. And that pride won’t happen if we don’t have linguistic pride, which is a kind of cement that holds us together,” he said.
Photo David Boily, archvies LA PRESSE
Richard Campeau
“I have the impression that we will have to go county by county and door by door, and explain what we want to do, come up with interesting proposals”, added the one who is also parliamentary assistant in environment, by launching all smiles that his party can “perhaps target” each of the 27 constituencies on the island.
At his side, Chantal Rouleau remained cautious when questioned about the number of deputies that her party aims to obtain in the metropolis. “The election is too important a time when people have to make a choice. You have to work all the way, until October 3, to gain people’s confidence. But already, together, we have done a lot, and Montreal has been at the heart of the government’s strategy, ”she reiterated, praising the “excellent candidates” that the CAQ will present in the region.
As for the Eastern REM, which is now under the management of Quebec and Montreal, Minister Rouleau says she has “no doubt that this essential project wanted by the majority will see the light of day very soon”. “It’s not a fracture, it’s not a Highway 40. Some have released this image. It’s completely out of step. It’s not that. It is a structuring mode of transport that will allow 500,000 people to travel every day, ”she argued.
A “Silicon Valley” in the East
On Monday, presenting his new candidate in Anjou-Louis-Riel, former municipal councilor Karine Boivin Roy, Premier François Legault agreed that “it’s not enough for the CAQ to have just two deputies on the Island of Montreal”. Mr. Legault said he wanted to make the east end of Montreal “a new Silicon Valley”. According to him, this sector of the island has enormous potential for urban development. He wants to attract technology companies there, “but not refineries”.
“When the refineries closed, the economy fell, but there still persists a network of companies that are aligned with new energies, with the energy transition that is necessary. It is a territory that can be used for that, ”added Minister Rouleau on Tuesday.
Praising the law on the end of the exploitation of hydrocarbons, the achievement of 17% of protected areas and the work for the establishment of a deposit “worthy of the name”, Richard Campeau says to him “convinced that there has never been so much that has been done by any government” in the environment.