(Quebec) The Legault government’s promise to invest as much in public transit as in roads has run out of gas. Even if the fourth Girard budget provides for “record” investments in public transport, it still promises twice as much in bitumen.
Posted at 4:21 p.m.
The new 2022-2032 Quebec Infrastructure Plan (PQI) announces $30.7 billion for the road network, compared to $13.4 billion for public transport.
Far from reaching half, investments in public transport therefore represent 30.4% of transport expenditure, compared to 31% in the PQI 2021 and 34% in the PQI 2020.
The government denies having breached its commitments. According to the President of the Treasury Board, Quebec is keeping its promise if we take into account the projects of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) such as the REM, future investments that are not yet under construction or even the motorway widening to install reserved lanes.
According to this method of calculation, the investments are equivalent. “I think we are in a proportion that is justified given the geography of Quebec,” explains Sonia Lebel.
“I come from a region where it’s not public transit, it’s a rural region where we have to continue to maintain the road network. It is vital for our regions,” added the President of the Treasury Board, who comes from Mauricie.
Solidarity MP Ruba Ghazal was not convinced by this calculation method. She denounced a budget which provides for “more roads, more highways, enlargements…”
“For the roads, there are no limits,” she says.
The Legacy of the 60s
Expenditures on Quebec roads go largely to their maintenance. Of the 30.7 billion swallowed up in the asphalt, 23.5 billion (76%) will be used for “asset maintenance”.
“A significant portion of the park was built during the 1960s and 1970s. Thus, their useful life is often reached and significant investments become necessary,” reads the PQI.
For public transit, the proportion is reversed: 81% of investments will go to improving the network.
Note that the future Québec-Lévis tunnel is still not costed and listed as “in progress” in the PQI.
“The famous Quebec-Lévis tunnel is still in planning. So it is clear that the minister [Éric] Cairo, which had promised to put its seat on the line, will have to make a decision to this effect, ”said Liberal MP Pierre Arcand.
The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec went further. ” There is nothing [dans le budget] for the third link. This is another broken promise from the CAQ,” said Éric Duhaime.