Accused by opposition parties of blaming motorists instead of taking responsibility, Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault admits that she “may have […] badly expressed” by affirming that it is necessary “to develop the reflex to consult the 511” to avoid traffic jams like those of Saturday.
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There is a “limit to putting the burden on people’s shoulders”, commented Thursday the parliamentary leader of Quebec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, reacting to the remarks made the day before by Mr.me Guilbault.
In the same vein, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon criticized Minister Guilbault for “pointing the finger” at those who, last Saturday, “lived through hell” on the approach to Montreal-Trudeau airport.
Featured by Mme Guilbault, the Quebec 511 service, which provides information on road conditions and work, is “obsolete”, considers the PQ.
“If the Minister blames people for not consulting 511, I encourage her to optimize her existing links with geolocation platforms. Montrealers know where the traffic is … They are caught in it, ”reacted in turn the Liberal spokesperson for transport, André A. Morin.
Guilbault wants to “communicate better”
“Maybe I misspoke yesterday. We must communicate better, ”wanted to rectify the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, taking care not to completely swallow his remarks.
“The fact remains that information on construction sites is centralized on a platform called 511, maintained the minister. I also want us to improve this platform.”
The Deputy Prime Minister promises, among other things, to check whether “the 511 is sufficiently optimal, efficient”.
As for applications such as Waze and Google Maps, these are tools that are not “managed by the government”, she recalled. “Was there a bug with Waze [samedi dernier], that’s what we’re looking at. Because honestly, the construction site [de l’échangeur St-Pierre] lasted three days and there was only Saturday where it was so worse,” she said.
“I work for motorists, for people who have to travel on our network and I will make sure that things go better for the future,” said the Minister of Transport.
Also reacting to the words of Mr.me Guilbault, the CEO of Tourisme Montréal, Yves Lalumière, expressed his concern, especially as the Grand Prix de Montréal approaches.
“We haven’t even made it to June and we are starting with a situation which is still unacceptable and which gives a bitter taste to tourists, to visitors”, he lamented.