Without fanfare, the Ministry of Transport has put a questionnaire online to collect the opinion of the general public about mobility in the greater Quebec region. This is the major consultation promised by François Legault the day after his defeat in Jean-Talon.
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A section dedicated to mobility issues in the Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches regions was put online at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday morning on the public consultation platform of the Quebec government website.
Around midday, however, the platform was inaccessible. “This survey is now closed, either because we have already reached the number of respondents required for the study or the number of respondents required with your profile has been reached,” the website read.
Remember that the day after the victory of the Parti Québécois in the by-election in Jean-Talon, in the wake of the surprise departure of CAQ leader Joëlle Boutin, the Prime Minister unearthed the possibility of a third road link, abandoned a few months earlier.
“Whether we are for or against the third highway link, there are several people in the greater Quebec region who felt that we were not respecting our promise concerning this third link,” Mr. Legault analyzed. .
“So we have to question ourselves and we have to listen to the citizens of Quebec,” he announced, explaining that rebuilding the bond of trust with the population inevitably required a major consultation.
“This public consultation aims to obtain an overview of the needs and concerns of the population in terms of mobility in these two regions. The results obtained will make it possible to feed the government’s reflection on possible solutions to improve mobility in each of the two regions and between them,” we can read before completing the questionnaire.
- Listen to the Lisée – Montpetit meeting with Jean-François Lisée and Marie Montpetit via QUB :
Twenty questions
The latter includes around twenty questions, most of them very general, for example to geographically locate the respondent, indicate whether they work or study from home or in person, specify their travel habits (car or public transport), their age. , its gender, etc.
You have to go through about half of the questionnaire before getting to the heart of the matter, with questions such as:
- Do you consider that there is a mobility problem in the Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches regions?
- Are you in favor of the establishment of a structuring public transport network?
- What proposals would improve mobility: a third road link (with or without car, with or without public transport or a mixture of the two), the widening or construction of road axes)?
The population has until March 22 to participate in the online consultation. While the National Assembly is on break for two weeks, ministers Geneviève Guilbault, Bernard Drainville and Jonatan Julien reacted to the posting of their consultation online around 9 a.m., by way of a press release, Tuesday morning.
They specify in particular that the consultation is primarily aimed at residents of the two targeted regions, namely Quebec and Chaudière-Appalaches.
However, it is possible to answer the questionnaire if you come from another region. A respondent from Abitibi-Témiscamingue, for example, will then be asked to indicate how often he visits the greater Quebec region.
Once verified, it is also possible to complete the questionnaire as many times as you want. “It was essential that the consultation was easy to access and simple to complete. Creating an account, with personal information, such as an email, can be a hindrance and take more time. We wanted to avoid making access more complex,” explained Minister Geneviève Guilbault’s communications director, Maxime Roy, on this subject.
The government awarded a $35,000 contract to the firm SOM to carry out a survey on mobility, which will be conducted in parallel with the online consultation. “It will allow us to confirm or refute trends and ensure fair representativeness of the consultation,” argues Mr. Roy.
A facade consultation, says the PLQ
“What we are observing is only a facade of consultation with the population, an illusion,” reacted the PLQ transport spokesperson, Monsef Derraji.
“The CAQ has already awarded the mandate to the Caisse de dépôt for the project in Quebec. François Legault sought to restore the link of trust with the population, but it is unlikely that this link will be re-established with this simple questionnaire, believes Mr. Derraji. The major consultation promised by François Legault the day after his defeat in Jean-Talon ultimately amounts to an online consultation, far from meeting expectations of transparency and commitment.
“It’s good to consult the population, but we wonder where this consultation is coming from at this time, and what purpose it will be used for when the government has sent CDPQ Infra the mandate for mobility and transportation in the Quebec region. The questions seem geared towards the desired answers, while major infrastructure projects that cost billions are not launched for electoral reasons, but on the basis of scientific studies,” commented the PQ MP. by Jean-Talon, Pascal Paradis.
“It’s difficult to understand where the government is going with this, except that it raises even more questions about its leadership in terms of mobility and transport in Quebec,” laments the spokesperson for the Parti Québécois for the Capital’s issues. -National.
What they said
“We are committed to consulting the population on mobility in the Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches regions, and it will be done! For our government, it is essential to be connected to the needs of citizens in order to make the best decisions for today and tomorrow. We invite residents of our two regions to express themselves in large numbers as part of this simple and accessible consultation. »
– Geneviève Guilbault, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility
“There are obviously mobility issues between Quebec and Lévis, and more generally between the Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches regions. This citizen consultation will allow the population to express themselves, and will help us learn more about what concerns people in their daily lives. I hope many of them will make their voices heard. »
– Bernard Drainville, minister responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches region
“The citizens of the Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches are at the heart of this reflection on mobility. I welcome this consultation, which will open up the conversation with them and give them the opportunity to put forward their views on the options to consider. I invite the population to take the time to participate. »
– Jonatan Julien, Minister responsible for Infrastructure and Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region