A blow to Gatineau residents: no funding for the tramway is planned in the 2024 federal budget. The Minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez, had nevertheless confirmed less than a month ago that Ottawa would finance the studies in view of the implementation of the project.
“We take note of the silence of the federal government and we strongly denounce it,” reacted in a press release the spokesperson for the Ally for the Tramway Coalition, Patrick Robert-Meunier. “The fact that the federal government has chosen not to support the project, after so many years of waiting, is a slap in the face for the region. »
Funding for this means of public transportation, which should connect the west of Gatineau to Ottawa, has been requested in vain by the Quebec municipality, the Société de Transport de l’Outaouais (STO) and the Allied Coalition for the Tramway. The latter now believes that “the federal government is abandoning the region”.
“We will be present for these studies,” Mr. Rodriguez declared on March 21, before the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. At the time of writing, the Ministry of Transport had not responded to questions from the Duty. The City of Gatineau did not react either.
According to a report presented to the STO, the total cost of constructing the tramway is estimated between $3 and $4 billion. The CAQ government has agreed to pay 60% of the costs for the part of the project on Quebec soil, but Ottawa has still not clarified its intentions.
“Without concrete financial commitment from the federal government in the next #Budget2024, I will conclude that the tramway project is at an impasse and that Gatineau will have to reconsider its options,” the mayoral candidate and former mayor wrote Monday on director of communications and intergovernmental relations for France Bélisle, Daniel Feeny.
The Liberal MP for Pontiac also hoped for funding for this project “so important for [sa] constituency and for the Outaouais”.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.