(Quebec) The Conservative Party of Quebec wants to position itself for the elections as the party “most opposed” to the tramway project. Its leader, Éric Duhaime, is now calling for a “moratorium” on this issue, which divides the population of the capital.
Posted at 3:59 p.m.
“We are asking the government to wait until after October 3 to adopt any decree whatsoever in terms of the tramway. We think that the people of Quebec have not yet had the chance to speak out democratically, ”launched Éric Duhaime, leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ), on Wednesday.
The candidates in favor of the tramway won 75% during the municipal elections last October. But for Mr. Duhaime, this is not enough. “The elected mayor was talking about ten modifications to the project and there we are not asking for any of these ten,” he said, about the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand.
Éric Duhaime presented his candidate on Wednesday in the solidarity riding of Taschereau, Marie-Josée Hélie. She will try to dislodge Catherine Dorion, a big supporter of the Quebec City tramway project.
He was also accompanied by the PCQ candidate in La Peltrie, Stéphane Lachance. This is the founder of the Tramway non merci group.
Éric Duhaime believes that the CAQ government attacked the project last week, because it feels hounded by the PCQ in the greater Quebec City region.
“The CAQ knows that an election is coming, sees the rise of the PCQ and is worried about it. She wants people to believe that she has reservations. But they say that before the election when for years they have been big supporters, ”he said.
The leader of the PCQ assures that he “is not against public transport”. He promises to present his own project for Quebec by the summer.
A simple “error”
Last week, the sole Conservative member of the National Assembly jointly supported and tabled a motion in favor of the tramway project, to support Bruno Marchand in his showdown against the CAQ government.
Éric Duhaime affirms that this is not an inconsistency. Claire Samson only made a mistake, he says.
” There was a mistake. Every morning the independent deputies receive a packet of motions and Claire said “yes” to the packet of emails she received. »
According to him, voters should not worry about such a blunder. “It happens to all parties every day,” he said, without citing an example.
The Government of Quebec opposes the transformation of a section of René-Lévesque Boulevard into a shared street. The car must keep its place, according to the government of François Legault, which is committed to financing the 4 billion project.
Mayor Marchand presented Wednesday the results of a citizen consultation, where 69% of some 2,000 respondents said they were in favor of the shared street on René-Lévesque. This scenario favored by the City provides for the insertion of the tramway in the center of the roadway and the development of lanes shared between pedestrians, bicycles and cars on both sides.
Last week, several CAQ deputies denounced this development of municipal jurisdiction. The deputy for La Peltrie, Éric Caire, even accused Mayor Marchand of “polluting the lives of motorists”. He then retracted.