The Quebec law intended to make it possible to “accelerate” infrastructure projects in Quebec produces results for the road network, but much less in public transport, noted The duty. A policy described as double standards by the opposition in the National Assembly.
In 2020, Parliament adopted Bill 66 (PL 66) “concerning the acceleration of certain infrastructure projects”. Supported by the current president of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, it was supposed to make it possible to unblock a series of 180 projects stalled by state administrative procedures. Of these, 52 fell under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport.
By compiling data from a report published at the end of November by the Treasury Board, The duty was able to note that “law 66” had indeed had an effect in the “acceleration” of road projects in Quebec.
Approximately 43% of the road repair, expansion or improvement projects that appeared in the bill are now “in progress” while nearly 57% of them are considered “in planning”.
None of the 37 road projects covered by “Law 66”, including the repair of the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge and the construction of Highway 19 between Laval and Bois-des-Filion, is therefore still considered to be ” in the study “.
It’s quite the opposite for public transportation. The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMD) had eight projects on its list in 2021. Five of them (62.5%) are still under study. Two others – structuring transport projects in Laval and towards Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Chambly – were completely removed from the list.
The only project that has received groundbreaking is the extension of the blue line of the Montreal metro to Anjou.
In total, to improve its road network, the Ministry of Transport has invested nearly $400 million on projects included in its “Law 66”. And he plans investments ten times greater in the long term.
At the same time, he did not spend a penny on public transport, according to the ministry’s report.
Added to this are five projects to add reserved lanes, two of which are at the implementation stage, as well as two railway projects, both currently in planning. Some 120 million have been invested so far.
“The priority is concrete”
In the eyes of the opposition, the proof is made: “for the Coalition Avenir Québec [CAQ]it is not a priority, and they act accordingly,” says the Liberal transport spokesperson, André A. Morin, in an interview with The duty. The elected official from Acadia accuses the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, of not having a “plan” for the development of the public transport network.
“The priority for the government is concrete, it’s cars,” says Parti Québécois MP and transport critic Joël Arseneau. The fate of the tramway in Quebec is a blatant demonstration of this, adds the solidarity elected official for the Taschereau constituency, Étienne Grandmont.
“In Quebec, people have been talking about a tramway since the 1990s. And it never happened,” he explains, a few weeks after the CAQ entrusted the reins of the project to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
For Mr. Grandmont, “it’s clear” that Quebec’s road network needs maintenance. The Auditor General of Quebec recently noted that half of Quebec’s roads are in poor condition.
“Now, there is nothing that says we need to increase the size of the highway network,” he said. “We already have an immense network, which allows us to reach almost all the municipalities in Quebec. »
MP Morin deplores Minister Guilbault’s speech on transport. “When she talks about highway projects, she always talks about investments. When she talks about public transport, it’s an expense,” he denounces.
In its latest Quebec Infrastructure Plan, François Legault’s government budgeted $13.8 billion over ten years for public transportation, compared to $31.5 billion for asphalt. A proportion of approximately 30% to 70%.
Questioned about the data collected by The dutythe offices of Minister Guilbault and the Minister of Infrastructure, Jonatan Julien, did not respond to our questions within the allotted time.
With Sarah Boumedda