Whether they are thinking of the bus or the train, residents of the southern Gaspé Peninsula, in the riding of Bonaventure, maintain that they “are pitiful” when it comes to transportation.
In Maria, where more than 2,700 residents live, there are many cars on Route 132, which runs along the sea. Along the road, Nathalie Deslauriers chats with customers interested in her garage sale, under a strong summer sun. “We’re sorry, we don’t have much [en matière de transport] “, she says to the To have to.
Since 2013, the passenger train that went from Matapédia to Gaspé along the south coast of the peninsula no longer runs. Only freight rail transport is possible between Matapédia and Caplan, a section of approximately 125 km. No train can travel further to Gaspé, which is still 200 km away, due to the condition of the rails, according to the Quebec Ministry of Transport (MTQ).
The bus, on the other hand, makes one departure per day from Gaspésie to major centers via the north of the peninsula, and another via the southern route.
To be treated in hospitals in Quebec or Montreal, which offer certain services not accessible in Gaspésie, “it takes us means of transport”, continues Mme Deslauriers. “We have nothing left. You have to be able to drive, otherwise it doesn’t work. »
Ride for treatment
Raymond Kerr, a resident of Chandler, east of the riding of Bonaventure, knows something about it. He has to go to Rimouski or Montreal several times a year. The 71-year-old man has been battling colorectal cancer for four years. Sometimes he has to take exams in town. Not to mention the visits he pays to his daughters, both residents of Laval.
By bus, the journey from Chandler to Montreal lasts “still 14 hours”, almost 4 hours longer than by car, says Mr. Kerr. “But we accept and we drive”, he adds, with good humor. A regular ticket, with the bus company that offers the trip, Keolis, costs around 130 dollars. He also sometimes takes his car, when the road conditions are good.
Concerning the electoral campaign, Raymond Kerr salutes the investments of the government of François Legault, in particular in the region, during his last mandate. His vote will therefore go to the CAQ.
A tight fight between the Parti Québécois (PQ) and the CAQ formation is announced in his riding, Bonaventure. The outgoing independent deputy Sylvain Roy is not seeking a new mandate. The latter represented the citizens of the region since 2012 without interruption. First elected as a PQ, he had slammed the door of the PQ in 2021, because he no longer trusted the leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
But for Mr. Kerr, the PQ “no longer exists”. “It’s a total lack of leadership, we go from one candidate to another roughly every two years. For him, the founder of the party, René Lévesque, was “a god”. “He was never replaced either. »
The return of the train
According to PQ candidate Alexis Deschênes, transportation — like the train and the bus — are essential services for a remote region like the Gaspé Peninsula. In addition, “the train, for goods and to free up space on Route 132, there are companies that need it. »
While the commissioning of the approximately 70 km section between Caplan and Port-Daniel–Gascons is expected in 2024, no date is currently planned for the section up to Gaspé.
The government of François Legault has “dragged its feet”, according to Mr. Deschênes. If elected, the Parti Québécois (PQ) undertakes to restore a work schedule on the section between Port-Daniel–Gascons and Gaspé to allow the return of the passenger and freight train within four years.
The CAQ candidate in Bonaventure, Catherine Blouin, defends the outgoing government. The new deadlines should be known in 2023, she says. “It’s not that there are no more deadlines, it’s that we want to make sure we have all the elements of the analyzes in hand so as not to have any other unpleasant surprises. “Some structures that needed to be renovated have to be completely rebuilt, says Ms.me Blouin. She wants the train to resume “as quickly as possible on the Gaspé side”.
For the candidate of Quebec solidaire (QS), Catherine Cyr Wright, the return of the train is essential to promote the ecological transition. “In our plan to address the climate crisis, obviously in terms of transportation for the region, it’s important to provide alternative modes of transportation. »
If the solidarity formation is brought to power, it wants to “revolutionize intercity transport” by creating Quebec-Rail, which would include five train lines to connect the main cities of Quebec. Elsewhere, Québec-Bus would complete the network with 11 lines over more than 4,000 km of road.
During this election campaign, transportation is “an issue as important as housing in Gaspésie,” said Pierre-Luc Arsenault, councilor for the Pabos sector of the City of Chandler. And, not just for long distances. Residents frequently borrow their car to drive one or two kilometers between home and work, underlines the 42-year-old man seated at the friendly Mich Café.
“The solo car is still queen and mistress of our roads here,” laments Mr. Arsenault. The latter uses his bicycle to go to the grocery store and take his children to daycare. “But we can count them on the fingers of one hand those who do that. »
The lack of safe places to walk and ride a bike is to blame, says Pierre-Luc Arsenault, his voice drowned out by the sound of coffee makers running at full speed. The speed at which cars spin on Route 132 is a problem, he argues. “There are more and more cars, and they are getting bigger and bigger. »
“Finally, active transportation is not manna,” says the municipal councillor. It’s “buy yourself a tank or stay at home”. »
The lack of transport in Gaspésie makes people “zombies” and dependent on the car and its costs, asserts Mr. Arsenault.
As for knowing which political party could promote active transportation in Gaspésie and respond to local problems, Pierre-Luc Arsenault has no bias. For him, the ideal would be a formation which would have a vision for the region and which would be capable of “carrying it out”. But it will take more than a four-year term, he concludes.