Politics | A big year ahead for Valérie Plante

The coming year will present major challenges to the mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante. If his first mandate served to establish his credibility and to impose the philosophy of his party, the second will have to be that of great achievements.

It will take advantage of the famous “first 100 days” to launch ambitious projects or, at the very least, to offer us a clear direction for the others. With a total of 250 pledges compiled in her last campaign, she and her team will have a lot of work to do.

“We have short-term priorities that we will implement from the start of the year and long-term projects that we will launch in the same stride,” Dominique Ollivier, president of the executive committee, told me. A great tax reflection will precede that. We realize, with the pandemic, that housing and transport needs, support for homelessness, the fight against social inequalities and the ecological transition objectives that we have set for ourselves cannot be financed with a tax base. only based on land. Alliances will have to be made to answer these questions. “

Here is an overview of the major projects that await the mayoress.

Diversify income

The Plante administration tabled its most recent budget on December 22. It will be adopted at the end of January. The mayoress had promised not to increase property taxes beyond 2%. She respects her commitment. Several big promises in her program must be funded with money that she hopes to draw from new sources of income. Where will she go to get these millions? There is a major income diversification exercise to take place over the next few months. We will study all possible avenues: eco-tax measures, tax on foreign residential real estate investments, tax on signage, tax on outdoor commercial parking lots, etc. We should also try to curb real estate speculation by creating a series of tax measures.

Fight against violence

The issue of violence and public safety has become of great concern in recent months in Montreal. The Plante administration tirelessly repeats that we must act on three fronts: better gun control, the fight against street gangs and the adoption of a program to eliminate social inequalities, particularly in neighborhoods where the ‘there is less infrastructure. This problem will not be resolved in a few months. It will take time and the cooperation of all levels of government. But above all, the mayoress will have to show strong leadership in this file and rebuild the confidence that was shaken when we learned that the hiring of 250 police officers promised during the campaign would ultimately be used to make up for retirements.

Create housing

Valérie Plante has promised 60,000 new affordable housing units over 10 years. For this, it will release a budget of 800 million. It will also be able to count on the collaboration of promoters who are subject to the Regulation for a mixed metropolis, commonly known as 20-20-20. For their part, the promoters will have to get help from Quebec and Ottawa to achieve their objectives. Knowing that the Plante administration struggled to achieve its objective of 12,000 social, affordable and family housing during its first term, all eyes will be on this important project.

Fight homelessness

The problem of homelessness continues to grow in Montreal. The pandemic has accentuated it. There is a 70% increase in the number of people homeless in the metropolis. For the past two years, most actions have been taken in a hurry and are designed to be temporary. The number of shelters, the control of camps, the lack of housing and resources, the ravages of drugs and alcohol… We have the impression that we no longer know how to get hold of this major issue. New funds from Quebec and a long-term integrated plan recently created by a group of organizations could make a difference. Projet Montréal, party to the fight against social inequalities, cannot afford to fail in this area.

Relaunch the city center

While we are preparing to put an end to the transformation work on the “new” rue Sainte-Catherine, the pandemic continues to rage and prevent a large number of workers from frequenting downtown on a daily basis. We must not forget that the heart of the metropolis is an ecosystem made up of several components. There are those who work there, who live there and who shop there. How to bring all these citizens together in a context of pandemic, economic and commercial challenges? This is the immense task that the municipal administration will have to tackle over the next few years.

Scrutinize the Eastern REM project

Since Montrealers discovered the final result of phase 1 of the REM, great concerns have surrounded the REM de l’Est project, especially since a section must cross the city center of the metropolis. The committee of experts responsible for seeing to the urban integration of the REM is due to submit its (eagerly awaited) report during the first quarter of 2022. There is no doubt that Valérie Plante will play a capital role in the decisions that will be taken. His administration has made a commitment to combine the transport sector with that of town planning. This should also apply to the blue line extension project and to the future section of the pink line that will go west, towards Lachine.

Ensure good development of the city

Valérie Plante has said it over and over again: she will not inject any public money into the baseball stadium project of a group of promoters. For her, what matters is how they will develop the area that is coveted and which overlooks Peel Basin. Moreover, all the development of the Bridge-Bonaventure sector, located in the Sud-Ouest and Ville-Marie boroughs, will have to be the subject of sustained attention, based on a foolproof master plan. As for the revitalization of eastern Montreal, this is the project of a generation, but one that already needs vigilant support. And creative.