At a press briefing on Tuesday, the Parti Québécois did not rule out the possibility of leaving a place for highway transport in the third Quebec-Lévis link project that it will present in the 2026 election.
For the second time Tuesday morning, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was asked whether or not he excluded the possibility that the project presented by his party would leave room for cars. During the 2022 campaign, the PQ proposed a project reserved exclusively for public transportation.
For all response, the leader of the PQ conceded that “the work must be done again”, in light of the conclusions to be delivered by the Caisse de dépôt et placement on the subject of the third link and even, possible “firm commitments” or “things Already [commencées] by the government “.
“The position of the Parti Québécois is the same. We do not see any interest or reason to include the highway in Quebec’s structuring transportation project. This work needs to be redone because other players like the Fund risk getting involved, so I will not commit to certain parameters that I do not control, namely what will the Fund come and say or do in this matter,” declared the PQ leader.
After the publication of articles repeating his remarks, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon made a publication on he has previously refused to defend himself in front of journalists.
Yes, again, the Parti Québécois excludes it.
“We do not see any interest or reason to include the highway in the structuring transportation project for Quebec _, as we can read in the article.
What we don’t control is the CDPQ variable, as I have… https://t.co/bZqLdd9gdl
— Paul St-Pierre Plamondon (@PaulPlamondon) April 9, 2024
A proposal for 2026
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon once again committed to returning “with a proposal [de nouveau lien] in 2026.” In his opinion, “the situation on the third link is evolving in such a chaotic manner that there are certain adjustments, additional reflections which will take place before 2026, it is obvious”.
From an “ideological” point of view, there is also no question for the PQ of demanding, from the outset, that a new link between Quebec and Lévis be reserved for public transport. “The only guiding principle, which is not ideological, but which is founding in the PQ, is that we consult a large number of experts, we consult the population, and it is on this basis that “We take what we believe to be the best project,” declared Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon.
Until the PQ proposes a new version of the third link, it is status quo to the party. “You want to know my position for 2026: for the moment, the position in force is [celle de] 2022, and we had done our job well I think,” Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon told journalists. He also said he corroborated “100%” the position of former PQ candidate Jeanne Robin. “There is in fact no appetite for a motorway link because that is not what the experts tell us [qui] would be most beneficial for Quebec,” he said.