(Quebec) It was François Legault who put an end to the debate and authorized the decree allowing the City of Quebec to go ahead with its tramway project, without any conditions, says Pierre Fitzgibbon. “We want trams everywhere,” added the minister.
Posted at 10:38 a.m.
“The Prime Minister has decided,” dropped the Minister of the Economy in a press scrum on Thursday.
Mr. Fitzgibbon is himself a proponent of public transit. “We are going to have the tram, everyone is happy. I have always said that I was for public transport, it is part of our program to decarbonize Quebec, ”he told the parliamentary press.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
Peter Fitzgibbon
The day before, the Council of Ministers signed a regulatory document which authorizes the City of Quebec to launch calls for proposals for the supply of rolling stock and the construction of the infrastructure of the tramway network, a project of nearly 4 billion. But surprise, this document did not contain any conditions, contrary to what three ministers of the Capitale-Nationale region demanded two weeks earlier.
A statement by Minister Éric Caire had set things on fire: “The mayor of Quebec says he does not want to wage a war on the automobile, when he proves it and stops polluting the lives of drivers with projects like that, ”he said before retracting. This outing where the CAQ demanded the removal of a 500-meter shared street in the heart of Quebec City was made at a time when Éric Duhaime’s Conservative Party of Quebec — which campaigns against the tramway — is gaining popularity. In the region.
Turnaround
It’s quite a turnaround. On Tuesday, the Minister of Energy and MP for Charlesbourg, Jonatan Julien, asked that a majority of citizens, “50% +1”, support the project, and François Legault made it a condition.
But the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, had allies. The opposition parties in the National Assembly took up the cause of the tramway project. The Union of Quebec Municipalities and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante also came out to defend municipal autonomy and stand behind Mr. Marchand.
Pierre Fitzgibbon acknowledged that people in the caucus “have their opinion”. But since a decision has been made, “at some point, we come together”.