The mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, will sit down on Wednesday at the table of Prime Minister François Legault to defend the plan B envisaged by the City to make its tramway a reality.
“I will go and present this plan B to the Prime Minister. I will present all the details,” insisted the elected official, “and I will listen to his vision of things. Now is the time to hear the government on this issue. »
The elected official of the capital does not hide it: this will be the last chance plea. “I have reached the limit of my abilities. I gave everything I could give to this project. Now the ball is in the court of the Quebec government to see what it will do with this. »
In the absence of a private consortium to coordinate the site, the City proposes to take on project management. A way of doing things already proven in other megaprojects, but which comes with a bill of 8.4 billion dollars which raises eyebrows in the government.
Tuesday, on the eve of his meeting with Prime Minister Legault, Bruno Marchand specified that the amount included a sum of 2.2 billion to cover unforeseen events. “It’s part of all projects, there are always contingencies,” insisted the mayor of Quebec. In this case, they are high at 26%. It’s conservative: I’m confident that we’ll get into the 8.4 billion range. »
François Legault has already described the price now associated with the site as “expensive, very expensive”. In the corridors of the National Assembly, CAQ ministers now prefer to talk about “a heavy mode of transport” rather than specifically naming the tramway.
No one within the Quebec caucus would come to the defense of the tramway either, according to information reported Tuesday by Radio-Canada. It would even be the subject of ridicule among the deputies, some speaking of an “electric carriage” for Quebec, the only Canadian city of this size not to have a structuring transport network.
Despite the comments reported by the state company, Bruno Marchand believes that he will not play the role of an idiot at a “cons dinner” when he meets the government. “I think they have the openness to have this frank and honest discussion. I feel it: I don’t think it’s a dinner for idiots, the mayor stressed. No way. »
Even before the City unveiled its plan B and the new budget estimate for the project, the tramway was struggling to rally the population of the capital. The most recent survey commissioned by Quebec showed a favorable opinion which peaked at 40% after the distribution of the 10% of undecided people.