(Quebec) The mayor of Lévis Gilles Lehouillier is “flabbergasted” and “flabbergasted” by the Coalition avenir Québec’s abandonment of the highway tunnel project between his city and Quebec and shares the feeling of “betrayal” experienced by the citizens of his municipality.
“We have just cheated the population, we fooled them. This is unacceptable,” Mr. Lehouillier said Thursday during an emotional press conference where he fired red balls at the Coalition avenir Québec.
The mayor recalled that his region is painted CAQ color from one end to the other, and that François Legault has made a firm commitment to build the third link “with or without studies” during the general elections of 2018 and 2022. .
These promises were supported by the Premier of Quebec. These promises were supported during the election campaign by ministers Bernard Drainville (Lévis) Martine Biron (Chutes-de-la-Chaudière) and Geneviève Guilbault (Louis-Hébert). There was every reason to believe that the project would go ahead
Gilles Lehouillier, Mayor of Lévis
He says that in February, the ministerial cabinets reassured him that the government still had the will to build this tunnel.
“It was really firm as a commitment. We say to ourselves, from that moment, it is sure that the project will be carried out. Rarely have I seen such an important commitment brushed aside. I’ve never seen that elsewhere, ”he cursed.
Mr. Lehouillier appeals to the seven elected Caquistes in his region to “stay upright”. What does that mean, according to him? “It means fighting for what we were elected to do, and not throwing down the gloves before the game is over,” he said.
He learned the news at the end of the day on Monday, and did not have the opportunity to plead his case.
Against the regions
The mayor of Lévis harshly accepts the decision to abandon the highway project to replace it with a public transport project. He has harsh words for the project presented by Mme Guilbault this morning. No cost, no journey, no mode of transport, it is not a project, but “a vision”, he said. He has no intention of wasting “a minute” of his time working on a project that has little chance of success, he explained.
He believes that the decision that François Legault has taken is against the regions. “The regions of Quebec are not getting their fair share of government investments. We take the crumbs that fall from the table,” he said.
“I think that at some point the regions will say enough is enough. We got there. I think there will be movement in the coming months, ”added the mayor of Lévis, who has appeared many times alongside François Legault in recent years to defend the highway tunnel project between Quebec and Lévis. .
Do we want to continue investing in our regions, yes or no? […] There are only for Quebec and Montreal. The regions: crumbs. At most, we can give loan guarantees to businesses.
Gilles Lehouillier, Mayor of Lévis
It also defeats the arguments put forward by Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault and Premier François Legault to give up the third link. “We used fragmentary figures from 2022 to pull the plug,” he said, pointing to a report from the Ministry of Transport which contradicts Quebec.