Municipal elected officials in the metropolitan region fear that the provision of public transport services will once again be put at risk due to the absence of a predictable financial framework in Quebec’s 2024 budget. Added to their concerns are those of transport companies, who deplore the lack of “commitment” from the government.
“Cities do not want to replay the same film as last year,” immediately launches the Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM), which represents 82 municipalities in Greater Montreal, in a press release published Tuesday, shortly after the filing of the new budget.
For several months now, exchanges between Quebec and transport companies have been acrimonious to say the least. Last year, discussions to finalize carrier budgets for the 2024 fiscal year ended quite abruptly after weeks of negotiations in the public arena.
The final government aid was then set at 265 million, including 238 million for Greater Montreal, an amount which was considered largely insufficient by the cities. In doing so, transport companies were forced to allocate non-recurring sums to cover the deficit facing them.
However, “these sums are no longer available and will not be able to be used to complete the 2025 budget, which makes the situation even more critical and could put the supply of services at risk,” warns the CMM, which estimates the transport deficit collective to 560 million for 2025.
This year again, a new shock to public transport seemed telegraphed. 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”.
In the government budget published this Tuesday, the amounts planned over 10 years in the Quebec Infrastructure Plan (PQI) have not changed for public transport, remaining at 13.8 billion, the same level as last year . However, the way in which this amount will be broken down remains unknown.
Uncertainties for the future
Due to the government’s “more than vague” contribution, the CMM once again fears that cities and public public transport organizations will find themselves “facing difficult choices”, with part of the bill risking being passed on to the citizens.
It must be said that the needs are immense. Across Quebec, the Urban Transport Association (ATUQ) demanded in February in Quebec aid of 622 million for 2025 “in order to preserve the service offer”. In Greater Montreal, the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM) revealed that it needs government aid of 421 million next year. Its general director, Benoît Gendron, estimated in light of the budget that “the impasse remains[ait] regarding the sharing of the shortfall.
At the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), we also say “noting a lack of commitment from the government to the crisis in financing the operation of public transport”. In short, the carrier regrets that the government is “postponing the question until later”.
Questioned on this subject, the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, affirmed that the government would make its financial commitments known once the performance audits to which public collective transport organizations are subject were published. These audits, mainly aimed at the financial performance of companies, were launched in February and are expected to take place over several weeks.
“It is regrettable that the government is using ongoing performance audits to push back the issue, even though we have been in action for several years on the management of our expenses,” reacted the chairman of the STM board of directors, Éric Alan Caldwell.
“Little room for maneuver”
All this occurs while this year, new negotiations will take place to hope to find a new solution, with a view to establishing a “recurring and predictable” financing framework over five years in public transport. “We are still waiting for a lasting solution,” noted the ATUQ in a statement, also showing concern about “the reduction of 400 million in the maintenance of assets”.
In Montreal, Mayor Valérie Plante, for her part, invited Quebec to put an end to the “uncertainty over financing” of public transport. “We must establish a stable, recurring and sustainable financial framework,” she persisted.
Her counterpart from Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, for her part estimated that “there is very little room for maneuver without there being repercussions on the level and quality of service offered to the population”.
Same story on the side of Laval, where Mayor Stéphane Boyer affirms that it is about “providing efficient and [de] the quality of life that accompanies it. The financial context in which the government operates is “difficult”, he nevertheless admitted.