The standoff between the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, and certain ministers of the Legault government on the Old Capital tramway will be decided by the Prime Minister himself, and this, in favor of Mayor Marchand.
Passing through Montérégie on Monday, François Legault did not take a detour to try to spare the goat and the cabbage. Despite the objections raised in particular by the Deputy Prime Minister, Geneviève Guilbault, and the ministers Éric Caire and François Bonnardel, the Prime Minister was very clear as to his intentions: “There is a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. I will vote to give the decrees to the mayor of Quebec to move forward. »
François Legault put only one downside to this support for Mayor Marchand: “What we want is for there to be the best social acceptability. I think that all mayors, starting with the mayor of Quebec City, want their projects to be supported by their citizens. This is the only condition we will set. »
Mr. Legault took the opportunity to once again express his displeasure at the deaf ear given to him by the Trudeau government in this matter. “Obviously, we also want to get our share of the federal government’s money. I don’t see why he would fund Toronto, but not [Québec]. »
But he repeated that “the decree, if it is just from me and there are a few ministers here, we will give it to Bruno Marchand on Wednesday”. The ministers to whom he was referring were those of Education, Jean-François Roberge, of Higher Education, Danielle McCann, of Justice and Leader of the Government, Simon Jolin-Barrette, of Aboriginal Affairs, Ian Lafrenière, and of Culture, Nathalie Roy. This ministerial skewer accompanied Mr. Legault who was in Varennes to present the one who will be a candidate in Verchères for the CAQ, Suzanne Roy, the former president of the Union of Quebec municipalities and former mayor of Sainte-Julie.
The question of the tramway surfaced when the Prime Minister was asked about the efforts that Quebec should make to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in the wake of the new IPCC report presented on Monday.
François Legault did not fail to point out that Quebec is the state that produces the least GHGs per capita of all the 60 states and provinces of North America. “We are first out of 60, so it’s a good start. Secondly, we are one of the only jurisdictions that has a costed plan of $7.6 billion over five years,” he added, comparing this plan to that of $9 billion over seven years from the federal government for the entire Canadian territory.
It was at this time that he also invoked the some $56 billion in public transit projects, including that of the Quebec tramway, recalling that the lion’s share of Quebec emissions goes to transportation. “We are moving forward on the transportation side because that is where there is still work to be done”, including again in its public transport projects “the third link between Quebec and Lévis, (where) there will be lanes for public transport from city center to city center”.