The Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, finds it “a little strange” that municipalities fear heavy losses without increased government aid when, according to her, several other means would “save money” without affecting the service.
“Is there really nothing to do at the moment other than closing the metro after 11 p.m.?” I’m not sure,” M said on Friday.me Guilbault during a press scrum, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Mobilité Montréal steering committee.
Earlier, Thursday, five mayors of Greater Montreal, including Valérie Plante, were concerned that Ms.me Guilbault to absorb only 20% of the deficits of transport companies – with aid of 502.8 million over five years – would have the consequence of severely cutting the service.
Only on the island of Montreal, according to the municipalities’ assumptions, the metro should close after 11 p.m. every day and only open at 9 a.m. on weekends. The drop would also be felt in the number of buses, everywhere in Greater Montreal, drivers would have to be laid off, cities estimate.
However, according to Minister Guilbault, several “optimization” measures would make it possible to avoid such scenarios. “There are ways to save money or review the way of managing operations, organizations and human resources before closing the metro [après 23 h] », she thinks.
The elected CAQ member does not hide the fact that she finds it “a little strange” that cities expect Quebec to pay 75% of the transport companies’ deficit in 2024, estimated at 532 million. In their counter-offer submitted this week, the municipalities are asking the government to extend 400 million for next year.
At L’Épiphanie, in Lanaudière, on the sidelines of the unveiling of a new daycare service, Prime Minister François Legault for his part pleaded Friday that the government is ready to continue discussions with the municipalities, but that they will have to do more in a context where “the room for maneuver is not infinite in Quebec”.
« La gestion du transport collectif, ça relève des villes, des municipalités. Nous, on participe, on va continuer de participer au financement, mais c’est important aussi que les villes, les municipalités, participent. […] The room for maneuver is not infinite in Quebec, as in municipalities elsewhere,” he said.
A gaping hole
Earlier, Friday, The Press revealed that Quebec would soon make a new offer to Greater Montreal transport companies, increasing its aid for 2024 from 150 to more than 200 million dollars.
Friday morning, the cities said in response that government aid of less than 300 million for 2024 would directly lead to the service cuts presented on Thursday. “Below that, it’s dramatic,” said a source familiar with the matter in the municipal sector.
In short, the challenge remains and the dawn of an agreement is still distant, especially since the two parties do not even agree on the calculation of the deficit. The government is of the opinion that transport companies overestimate it by around 100 million. A vagueness also remains regarding the use of the news on registration in Greater Montreal, which the municipalities want to use to develop the network and which Quebec instead wants to use to reduce the deficit.
“If we put all the money into the deficits of public transport companies, where do we get it? Where do I cut? In housing, in public safety? […] It’s as if the more money we put in, the more we’re asked for. It can’t work like that. This is not at all realistic,” retorted Mme Guilbault, reiterating that a government “has never invested so much in public transportation” in Quebec.
Agreement still possible?
Like municipal elected officials, the minister nevertheless says she is convinced “that we will find common ground”. “In any case, we will have no choice,” she said, referring to the adoption of municipal budgets scheduled for November. “When we settle this year’s amount, it will just be the beginning,” however warned Geneviève Guilbault, reiterating that one in five financing plans is necessary to avoid reproducing the present conflict.
In addition, she added, “the gap still in terms of traffic, we came to fill it with our first offer”. “After that, we fall into structural deficits and increased salaries for which the government is neither consulted nor concerned,” thundered the minister again.
On site, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM), Michel Leblanc, for his part mentioned that both the government and the cities “are coming out of the woods a bit here and there”. However, he said he understood the government’s position. “In the business world, if you have a budget, you are responsible for it, but if you want me to compensate, I must have a right of oversight,” he said, calling for a rapid agreement to put this debate behind.
With Tommy Chouinard, The Press, and The Canadian Press