(Quebec) The scene made react several old of the old of the coverage municipal in Quebec. Rather than Mayor Bruno Marchand, Minister Jonatan Julien spoke the first words of a press conference at Quebec City Hall on Thursday.
Posted at 1:14 p.m.
“It would never have happened like that in the time of Régis Labeaume”, surprised an experienced journalist.
“I do not mark a turning point compared to before, I did not even know that”, reacted the mayor of Quebec, who refused to make a big deal out of it. “But I repeat, I have no ego! We receive a minister, we make room for it, we don’t work for our egos. »
This press conference was the first between the mayor and the new minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale. The two men, all smiles, seemed to spin the perfect happiness.
“It can’t be better than it is right now,” said Mr. Marchand. “We need a strong minister who will fight for the region and I am sincerely convinced that he will do that. »
This is a major reversal, just months after a series of skirmishes between the government and the mayor of Quebec over the tramway issue.
As recently as last March, Mr. Marchand accused the government of carrying out “a direct attack on the City of Quebec” and of “demonizing” public transport.
CAQ ministers had criticized the removal of automobile lanes on René-Lévesque to make room for the tramway. François Bonnardel, then Minister of Transport, blew hot and cold on the project. Éric Caire accused the mayor of “polluting the lives of drivers”, before apologizing.
The whole affair had even prompted the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ) to publicly support Mayor Marchand while inviting the State “to respect municipal jurisdictions in land use planning”.
The government then backed down and accepted the removal of the tracks on René-Lévesque. The matter seemed settled. But many feared that the blows on both sides would leave traces.
If they exist, they did not appear on Thursday. “I do not look to the past,” assured the mayor of Quebec, who believes that relations with Mr. Julien are “a very good omen”. Mr. Marchand even indicated that he “put the mechanisms in place to speak to each other frequently and avoid pitfalls”.
“The project will go ahead”
Jonatan Julien supported the tramway project on Thursday with a passion that few elected members of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) had shown before.
“The project is moving forward and we support it,” launched Jonatan Julien, also Minister of Infrastructure, bluntly. “I currently see very well the communication made by the City with the citizens, the efforts made to ensure that there is support. We see the progress. And I will always support the mayor of Quebec. »
The question now is how much this major public transport project will cost. In the initial arrangement, Quebec paid 60% of the bill and Ottawa, 40%.
First announced at 3.4 billion in 2018, it is now valued at some 4 billion. Mayor Marchand opened the door to further cost overruns.
“No, it’s not an open bar. If it costs 10 or 15 billion, I don’t expect the Government of Quebec to say: there is no problem,” remarked Bruno Marchand, who nevertheless recalls the galloping inflation that is rampant.
Minister Julien is waiting to see the prices submitted by the consortia before deciding on the costs. One thing is certain, it does not close the door to an increase in budgets.
“Undeniably, at the moment, there is an increase in the costs of major infrastructure projects. But nothing crazy is going to come out of this. We hope that the competition will be strong,” he said, referring to consortia.
But politics is never far away. Bruno Marchand gave an overview of his arguments in the event that the bill for his tram swells.
“We see it when we build a hospital in Montreal which was supposed to cost 2.5 billion and which costs 4.2, we are going ahead anyway, because there is a need”, he said in reference to the expansion of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital.
“In Quebec, we have mobility needs and the tramway is one of them. »