Public transportation | Quebec maintains a “death spiral”, accuses the opposition

The opposition is criticizing the “lack of leadership” of the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, at a time when the cities of Greater Montreal are threatening Quebec to increase the tax on registration in order to replenish the transport coffers in common, which still trails a large deficit.

“Week after week, the CAQ continues to demonstrate its total disinterest and its lack of leadership in matters of public transportation,” lamented Monday the MP for Nelligan and Liberal transport critic, Monsef Derraji.

According to him, Quebec has “completely lost control of public finances” and “now wants to blame the cities for tax increases to hide its incompetence” in sustainable mobility.

Earlier, Monday, The Press reported that the mayors of Greater Montreal recently threatened Quebec to impose up to $228 in tax per car throughout the metropolitan territory starting next year to revive public transportation. This scenario represents a 280% increase in registration tax.

Without additional support from the government, cities have also not excluded fare increases of 6% for public transport users, as well as cuts of 65 million in reduced service. A “potential postponement” of the commissioning of new segments of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), expected at the end of 2024, would also save nearly 60 million, say the municipalities.

Towards a new shock

After last year’s tough negotiations, a new shock on public transportation seemed telegraphed again this year. As early as February, the office of the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, warned that the government should “be responsible and respect the ability of Quebecers to pay”, by closing the door to new taxes.

However, during this time, “public transport is facing a monster deficit”, estimated at 561 million only in Greater Montreal, recalls Mr. Derraji. “The Minister of Transport washes her hands of it and suggests that cities take money directly from taxpayers’ pockets. […] Government inaction has a cost and it is the citizens who will still have to pay,” he insists.

PQ transportation critic Joël Arseneau fears that the government is inflicting “a death spiral on public transportation.” “What I especially criticize the minister for is increasing the standoffs and leaving everyone with the impression that she doesn’t care about public transportation, that the CAQ is a transportation government. road, the third link and the solo car,” he insists.

“I share the point of view of the mayor of Laval. We need a captain, someone who sets the tone, who develops a vision with ambition,” adds Mr. Arseneau.

At Québec solidaire, MP Etienne Grandmont believes that mayors “feel abandoned by the CAQ”. “The failures of the CAQ in public transport risk resulting in service cuts. Does the CAQ want to be the government of public transport cuts or the government of its revival? », he asks on this subject.

A crucial meeting

In Minister Guilbault’s office, they say they want to convene a meeting with the transport companies between now and the end of the parliamentary session, “in order to continue the discussion and find sources of optimization to better finance public transport.” This meeting will also be an opportunity to determine the amount granted in the short term, in 2025.

In the government budget tabled in March, the amounts planned over 10 years in the Quebec Infrastructure Plan (PQI) did not change for public transport, remaining at 13.8 billion, the same level as last year . The way in which this sum will be broken down remains unknown to this day.

The government has indicated that it will further detail its financial commitments once the performance audits to which public collective transport organizations are subject are published, by September.

“As a local government, with their own powers, municipalities have complete freedom to use these powers as they wish,” the minister’s entourage also indicated, regarding a possible increase in taxes.

With Philippe Teisceira-Lessard and Léa Carrier, The Press