The Eastern REM is in danger of going off the rails again, this time with the presentation by CDPQ Infra of a modified project. Despite laudable efforts to embellish the work, the Caisse does not respond to the most important criticisms in terms of governance, financing and urban integration.
CDPQ Infra has made every effort to improve the REM de l’Est project without altering its “business model”. Among the proposals it announced this week are more tapered aerial structures, white concrete, more discreet catenaries, noise barriers, the development of a promenade in two sections totaling 16 km, cycle paths, the withdrawal four of the eight traffic lanes on René-Lévesque Boulevard, greenery, beauty… But no tunnel downtown, no connection to the green line in Mercier-Est, and above all, no space at the decision-making table for the City of Montreal and the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM). These three omissions further undermine the acceptability of the project.
According to CDPQ Infra’s Vice-President for Corporate Affairs, Harout Chitilian, the architectural proposal responds to 80% of the recommendations made by the committee of independent experts. The chair of the expert group, Maud Cohen, cheerfully gives moral support to CDPQ Infra’s revised project, as does the Minister for Transport and Minister responsible for Greater Montréal, Chantal Rouleau. Their optimism is not enough to bury the deep concerns that the members of the advisory committee expressed in their report. Their recommendations do not all have the same weight, so these outbursts of enthusiasm must be weighed.
The governance and financing issues of public transit still arise with an acuity trivialized by CDPQ Infra and the Legault government. The President and CEO of CDPQ Infra, Jean-Marc Arbaud, boasts of having held more than 140 meetings with representatives of the City of Montreal. There is a difference between listening to and involving partners that CDPQ Infra does not understand. The REM de l’Est will change the face of downtown and the neighborhoods it will serve for at least half a century. It carries a significant risk of urban fracture, as was once the construction of the Metropolitan highway, this concrete curtain still standing. It competes directly with the green line and the Mascouche train.
The REM de l’Est is too important a project for the Plante administration and the ARTM to be kept out of the decision-making process. This is even truer with the unveiling of CDPQ Infra’s architectural vision. Wanting to respond to criticism, which is to her credit, she shoveled into the City’s yard development projects (bike paths, walks, lookouts, etc.) whose cost is estimated at one billion dollars, while the REM construction project is valued at 10 billion. A billion that CDPQ Infra does not intend to pay to protect its business model, which is based on the operation of the train (according to the logic of the kilometer/passenger) and the capture of land value added.
In other words, CDPQ Infra is suggesting that the Plante administration spend money it does not have. Montreal has set aside approximately $500 million to carry out developments along the REM de l’Est section. The Legault government has shown itself open to injecting funds. He will have to make official commitments before the election campaign.
At the end of a week rich in information, a gaping crack appears in CDPQ Infra’s business model. To maintain its profitability targets, the company completely outsources the costs associated with the development and urban integration of the REM de l’Est. It is as if the budget were cut by 9% of expenditure. The president of the Order of Architects, Pierre Corriveau, underlined the inconsistency of the project. For the Eastern REM to be profitable, CDPQ Infra “makes others pay” for the urban development without which the project would be unacceptable.
This model serves the interests of the Caisse and its performance requirements very well, but it cannot be used as a basis for assessing the value of the project as a whole. The REM de l’Est is not an investment vehicle like any other. It brings hope to a population that has long been neglected in terms of public transport. It is a source of concern for citizens living along the planned route. It will redefine the urban fabric and the downtown eastside living experience for years to come. It is a project that requires consultation between the stakeholders, and the search for a balance between financial and human imperatives.