With sobs in his voice, Lévis MP Bernard Drainville apologized to voters in his riding on Thursday, while his colleague Éric Caire pledged to stay on to sell the new version of the project.
” I want […] apologize to the people of Lévis and the people of Chaudière-Appalaches. I made a commitment and I am not able to deliver,” said Bernard Drainville after warning the media that it was “a very emotional subject” for him.
During the election campaign, Mr. Drainville had been one of the most passionate defenders of the third link project. “The commitment I made was sincere. The traffic I observed last summer was real. I honestly believed that the sick traffic we had last summer was the new normal. »
Last summer, work on the Pierre-Laporte bridge contributed to worsening traffic congestion.
The Minister of Education added that the new project dedicated solely to public transit must go ahead so that the greater Quebec City region has its “fair share”, in particular in investments from the federal government.
“I console myself with the fact that the downtown to downtown project, the public transit project, will allow us to get several billions from the federal government. »
The government of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) hopes that Ottawa will fund 40% of the project, the cost of which has not been publicly quantified.
As for the deputy Éric Caire, he has no intention of resigning despite the pressures he is under to do so. The elected representative of La Peltrie, who had promised to fight “to the blood” for a tunnel dedicated to cars, said he had decided to stay in office to convince his constituents of the value of the new project.
More details will follow.