After the announcement by CDPQ Infra of the postponement of the hearings of the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) on the Eastern Metropolitan Express Network (REM), Montreal says it expects the Caisse subsidiary de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) “do their homework” and improve their project so that it is “exemplary”.
CDPQ Infra confirmed Thursday that the BAPE hearings on the project, which were to be held this spring, would be postponed to a later date, failing to obtain the support of the City of Montreal, as reported The Press in the morning. “With the scale of a project like the REM de l’Est, which is essential for the east and northeast of Montreal, we attach great importance to ensuring that all partners adhere to a common alignment. Taking the time to ensure such alignment before launching the BAPE process is natural and necessary,” CDPQ Infra communications director Jean-Vincent Lacroix said Thursday.
The commissioning of the REM de l’Est was scheduled for 2029, but the postponement of the BAPE hearings suggests a possible delay in the schedule.
Mayor Valérie Plante, for her part, reiterated the need for CDPQ Infra to improve its proposal. “CDPQ Infra must ensure the success of the REM and has homework to do so that it is done in an exemplary manner. All the experts have endorsed the conditions required by the City of Montreal from the start for this project to be a success that meets the expectations of the Montreal population, ”commented his cabinet on Thursday in a statement sent to the media.
The mayor’s office pointed out that, in its report tabled last week, the committee of independent experts made several recommendations concerning the governance and urban integration of the project. “We expect CDPQ Infra to do its homework and respond to the requests expressed in the expert committee’s report,” said the mayor’s press attaché, Catherine Cadotte.
Social acceptability
Residents of Mercier-Est are urging Mayor Plante to reject the project and to stop “begging for a place at the CDPQ Infra negotiation table”.
The Collectif en environnement group Mercier-Est, which held a citizens’ assembly on Wednesday evening, believes that the project does not obtain social acceptability. “We find Prime Minister Legault’s attitude odious in letting the future of public transit in Montreal’s east end rest on Ms. Plante’s shoulders, when it was he who gave the keys and the powers to CDPQ Infra” , summarizes the president of the Collective, Raymond Moquin.
The opposition at City Hall still fears witnessing the premature death of the project. “Due to her lack of leadership, Mayor Plante is killing the biggest public transit project in Montreal. She has had more than a year to clarify with stakeholders what she considers to be “an exemplary integration” of the Eastern REM since its announcement in December 2020,” lamented the acting head of Ensemble Montreal, Aref Salem.
The postponement of the BAPE hearings also had echoes in Quebec. The leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec, Dominique Anglade, urged the government to make room for the City of Montreal in the planning of the project. “I think it reflects the management, the governance of the CAQ. Not involving people up front,” she said. “I think all the players have to be around the table to make decisions, which was not the case with the City of Montreal. »
For her part, Manon Massé judges that despite the gains made in terms of urban integration, significant doubts remain. The co-spokesperson for Québec Solidaire is still not convinced of the impossibility of passing the REM de l’Est underground in the city center, as CDPQ Infra asserts. “This project is very questionable. The form presented to us does not meet the needs. Do we have to pull the plug? We are not far from that, ”she commented.
Joël Arseneau, parliamentary leader of the Parti Québécois, believes that the postponement of the BAPE hearings is not a bad thing. “François Legault must take the lead and ensure that the committee is put in place, that the City has its point of view, its share of responsibility and its say. ARTM [Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain] must also be included, so that we can find the best project to serve the citizens and not to increase the CDPQ’s revenues,” he explained.