Cities are allies, Mr. Legault

Cities are right to ask Quebec for money to adapt to the consequences of climate change.

The heavy rains of last Tuesday evening (a sign from the sky?) illustrated more than any study the fragility of our infrastructures: sewer backup, flooded metro stations and basements… These extreme weather events are more more frequent and their impacts will be even more disastrous if nothing is done to prevent them.

The mayors’ proposal for a transitional green pact (until the next fiscal pact, in 2025) is therefore justified. These are the cities that are on the front line. They are the best placed to assess needs.

The clear refusal of the head of the CAQ is hardly justified.

“We must respect Quebecers’ ability to pay,” said Mr. Legault, who has just promised checks and tax cuts to Quebecers.

He’s not completely wrong when he says cities could make their demands as part of his plan for a green economy. The problem is that the criteria of this plan are not always adapted to the needs on the ground. The other problem is that the budget envelope, seven billion dollars over five years, is clearly insufficient since it also covers the entire electrification component.

However, the main cities of Quebec say they need 10 billion over five years to adapt their infrastructures (filtration plants, protection of banks, buildings, etc.). This is not a figure thrown in the air, it is based on a study carried out by the firm WSP and the consortium Ouranos.

The cities ask for this money without counterpart, because, they say, their investments in the infrastructures are already considerable. Their elastic is stretched to the maximum. There would of course be accountability mechanisms to ensure that the money is invested in the right places.

The end of inadmissibility of Mr. Legault is paradoxical.

On the one hand, he says that big city proposals (as part of the green economy plan) will be welcomed “as long as they offer […] a good return on GHG reduction”. And on the other, it promises a highway link between Quebec and Lévis without any study to prove its necessity or its impact on the reduction of GHGs. Find the error.

Not to mention that Mr. Legault shows paternalism towards cities. By keeping them in a position of beggars who have to knock on his door for every dollar, he forces them to manage piecemeal rather than plan for the long term.

Coming from a separatist prime minister who is always demanding more power and more money from Ottawa, this is amazing.

It is also indicative of an inability to work in partnership with other levels of government.

Whether with Ottawa or with the municipal world, the discussions are often difficult, the approach is divisive instead of being unifying.

Whether we think of the tramway in Quebec or the REM in Montreal, every little step forward is perilous, as if every little gain had to be extracted with life-saving pliers.

Over the next few years, Quebec will have to work better with the municipal world, it is in everyone’s interest.

The green pact is a good example of the type of partnerships to be developed with cities.

If we don’t inject more money into adapting to climate change, if we aren’t more in prevention mode, the bill will be even steeper in a few years.

And Quebecers will get tired of mopping up.