After six months of break, the new chapter in the saga of debates on transport in the capital will finally begin next week with the announcement of the proposal from CDPQ Infra, a sector of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) .
The highly anticipated analysis report from the Fund will be presented “next week,” the organization confirmed in writing on Thursday.
This report must answer two questions, the first of which concerns only Quebec. First, it must “identify a structuring transportation project to improve public transportation” in the capital, we can read in the official mandate given to the CDPQ by the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault.
However, the second concerns the entire Metropolitan Community of Quebec (CMQ), which not only includes Lévis, but also extends to the gates of Charlevoix, along Côte-de-Beaupré, and Portneuf, including the MRC de la Jacques-Cartier.
On this large territory, the Fund will make proposals to “improve mobility and fluidity”, particularly between the two shores.
Will the tram be on the program? And the Quebec-Lévis tunnel? Nothing has come to light in recent weeks. But everyone’s wishes are well known.
In March, the Minister of Education and Member of Parliament for Lévis, Bernard Drainville, assured business people in Greater Lévis that the third link was still part of the plans despite the abandonment of the project in April 2023.
Questions to clarify
Beyond the chosen mode of transport, many questions remain to be clarified. First, will the government follow the Caisse’s recommendations?
And who will be called upon to carry out these projects if this is the case? For the moment, CDPQ Infra’s mandate was only to propose solutions.
Does this mean that the project would fall into the domain of the new transport agency Mobilité Infra Québec (MIQ)? Minister Geneviève Guilbault seemed to have this in mind in recent weeks. However, the bill creating the MIQ will not be studied before the fall and its implementation is only planned for 2025.