The Coalition futur Quebec began on Saturday an activist rally marking its 10th anniversary by defending its major infrastructure projects in Quebec against an exit from the mayor of Quebec Régis Labeaume, who criticized the choices of the Legault government in these files.
About 850 Caquist militants gathered on Saturday in Trois-Rivières to adopt proposals favoring the development of the regions.
At the end of the day, Prime Minister François Legault took the stage to mark the anniversary of the party he co-founded in November 2011. Mr. Legault thanked all those who believed in him in a speech delivered to his activists gathered in the large hall of a hotel.
“There have been ups and downs,” he said. There were ends where there weren’t many people betting on our victory. “
He recounted the merger with Democratic Action, which was not “that easy”, and the fact that he had in particular to convince the ADQ to refocus.
“Quebeckers are in the center, in the extreme center,” said the Prime Minister.
Mr. Legault maintained that the CAQ went “to seek the best” to be part of its team that has been built over the years, until the seizure of power in 2018.
“We have like a dream team,” he said. It is not fair to the other parties. “
The Caquist leader maintained that his training changed the Quebec political landscape.
“For 50 years in Quebec, there has been an alternation between the same two parties,” he said. We managed to break that and change the landscape. “
With less than a year before the election, while his party has been at the top of the polls for months, Mr. Legault has shown his optimism.
“We are talking about the past ten years but I want to tell you the best is ahead of us,” he said.
In the morning, in a press briefing before the start of the General Council, Mr. Legault reiterated that he intends to respect the Election Law which prescribes a poll every four years.
“We have a law, we have clearly said that we have fixed date elections so the next general elections will take place in early October 2022,” he said.
While the proposals on the agenda promised to be consensual, Mr. Legault defended himself from being the only leader in his party. He underlined the importance of his team where, according to him, several ministers have all the skills to replace him.
“I’m happy to see this, but I’m here at least for another term,” he said. They will have to wait. “
Response to Labeaume
Three Caquist ministers started the day by retaliating against Mr. Labeaume. The outgoing mayor published a 14-page letter on Friday in which he spoke about the two major projects involving the government of Quebec, the tramway and the third link.
The Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault was delighted that Mr. Labeaume is no longer at city hall.
“I think it’s good that we can move on,” she said.
Ms. Guilbault welcomed the election of the new mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, who will be sworn in on Sunday.
“I welcome the new era that is coming with Mr. Marchand, who is very kind and affable,” she added.
Mr. Labeaume accuses the government of having caused an increase in the costs of the tramway project by modifying the route late. He also believes that a redevelopment of the tracks of the Pierre-Laporte bridge or a public transport project on the south shore would save the $ 10 billion planned for the Quebec-Lévis tunnel planned by the CAQ. According to the mayor, ending the third link project would give hope to young people.
The Minister of Natural Resources Jonatan Julien estimated that the exit of Mr. Labeaume reflects his annoyance at having seen his runner-up, Marie-Josée Savard, beaten on Sunday in the last municipal election.
“This is what I feel through this letter, a mourning to do and a little bitterness as well,” he said.
Mr. Julien, who was the vice-president of the executive committee in the Labeaume administration, lamented that the former mayor, in power for 14 years, is leaving by attacking the government. He defended the government’s decision to confirm the tramway’s overruns of $ 600 million, in the midst of the election campaign.
“It is certain that the information is relevant for a voter,” he assured.
In turn, the Minister of Transport François Bonnardel rejected the criticisms of Mr. Labeaume.
“The mayor saw his career end after 14 years, his runner-up who lost, he must have been disappointed,” he summed up.
The tunnel will reduce transit time, assured the minister, who is promoting public transport via reserved lanes.
“We cannot say that people are not wasting their time, they are wasting their time in their cars,” said the minister.
As for the addition of a reserved lane on the Pierre-Laporte bridge, this is not possible, assured the minister.
The prime minister said he was not surprised by the ex-mayor’s exit against the third link.
“I always felt that there was not a lot of support,” said Mr. Legault. He officially supported it before the election. After the election he said what he thought about it. “
Two Caquist militants have doubts
Among the activists present at the general council of the CAQ, which ends on Sunday, Sylvain Duval, delegate for the constituency of Portneuf, is against the Quebec-Lévis tunnel project put forward by his party.
“I would prefer a metro between Lévis and Quebec,” said the resident of Grondines. Doing as they planned with the third link will bring more tanks downtown. “
A delegate from the constituency of Abitibi-Ouest, Louis Desrosiers, an activist in the constituency of Abitibi-Ouest, expressed doubts about the outcome of the project.
“It’s a big industrial project, maybe it won’t succeed because it’s so expensive,” he said, hypothesizing that teleworking will compromise its necessity.
The activist did not expect a big debate around the list of proposals to be adopted, which target all the development of the regions.
“We cannot be against the positive,” he agreed.