The opposition parties sharply criticized the government and its “ goons for the charge led Wednesday by the CAQ against the mayor and the tramway of Quebec. Many are calling on François Legault to apologize for the “intimidation” that his party subjected the representative of the national capital to.
Several CAQ deputies, Éric Caire in the lead, accused Mayor Bruno Marchand, on Wednesday, of wanting to “pollute the existence of motorists” and “dictate the agenda of the Council of Ministers”.
A route shared with the tramway over 500 meters envisaged in the heart of Quebec earned the mayor this volley of green wood. Transport Minister François Bonnardel criticized Bruno Marchand and his shared street for compromising his “regional vision” in terms of mobility.
The Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale, Geneviève Guilbault, reiterated Thursday the importance, in the eyes of her government, of taking into account the interests of the greater periphery of Quebec in the development of the tramway. She said that citizens, without specifying the number, expressed their concerns to elected CAQ members by email.
“In the Communauté métropolitaine de Québec (CMQ), there are 28 municipalities,” recalled the Minister. So, yes, the City of Quebec, the City of Lévis, it is important, but there are 24 other municipalities that are concerned. »
Asked by The duty Wednesday, the mayor of Quebec pointed out that no representative of the CMQ had questioned him about any concerns whatsoever with regard to the shared section envisaged on René-Lévesque Boulevard.
The government stressed this week that the adoption of a decree essential to the launch of the calls for proposals for the tram was now conditional on the withdrawal of the shared street.
“We are talking about 500 meters from Cartier Street to Parliament,” Liberal MP Marwah Rizqi recalled Thursday, calling the CAQ deputies “B series actors”. “Their new demands sine qua non to sign a decree that they have been promising for several weeks now, that is to say that the people of Saint-Apollinaire should be happy, to say that the people of Saint-Agapit should also be happy with this route. […] People who live 30, 40 minutes from downtown Quebec, so 50, 60 kilometers from downtown Quebec. »
The duty pointed out to Minister Guilbault that the CAQ had never required the membership of the people of Mont-Saint-Hilaire or Mirabel when Mayor Valérie Plante carried out the REV on Saint-Denis.
“Me, I am the Minister of the Capitale-Nationale, defended the member for Louis-Hébert. My role is to have a vision and then regional leadership for the Capitale-Nationale, from Portneuf to Charlevoix. »
The Union of Quebec Municipalities, which claims nearly 400 members, supported Mayor Marchand against the provincial government’s interference in areas of municipal jurisdiction.
Concerted bullying
For the Parti Québécois, the belligerent words uttered by elected CAQ members against Mayor Marchand on Wednesday represent so many “concerted bullying operations [et] bullying. »
“This is not the first time that the CAQ has taken concerted and coordinated action to make a stakeholder lose credibility,” lamented Chief Paul St-Pierre-Plamondon. We are used to that, the opposition, this lack of respect. Corn […] intimidate the mayor of Quebec, you have a serious problem of loyalty towards your own people, your own cities. »
The leader of the Liberal Party is asking the Prime Minister to apologize and “remind his goons to order. »
“Honestly, from memory, I have not seen anything like that”, advanced Dominique Anglade about remarks which she describes as “indecent” and “disrespectful”.
“We must stop this approach where the CAQ thinks it knows everything,” said the elected Liberal. She is now interested in roads, […] tells people what to do, how to do it, who to vote for. This paternalistic approach must stop. »
The solidarity team urges the Legault government to stop dictating to the mayor of Quebec “at which street corner to put the bus station”.
“This project has been ready to get on track for two years, the CAQ finds all kinds of reasons not to go there, reported Manon Massé. When we have just tabled a budget that we say is the greenest budget, that is an inconsistency. »
Hounded in the Blue Room about their waltz-hesitation in front of the tramway, the ministers Guilbault and Bonnardel assured that they did not want to kill the project.
“If we had wanted to kill this project, it would already be dead,” said the Minister of Transport. Now, is it normal, as the main funder, for us to question the concept of a shared street, for there to be a traffic study, an impact study? »
François Bonnardel said he had scheduled a meeting with the federal Minister of Infrastructure, Dominic Leblanc, next week. Sharing the tram bill, estimated at four billion dollars, must be addressed, he said.