“Amazed”, the mayor of Lévis fires red balls on the third link presented Thursday by the government. An early ally of the highway tunnel promised for 10 years by the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), Gilles Lehouillier today denounces a “government [qui] has abandoned its regions”.
It was a mayor who had trouble containing his anger who spoke to the media on Thursday afternoon. Without discussion or possibility of debate, the CAQ announced to him, Monday, that the tunnel between Quebec and Lévis would not authorize any car, mode of transport preferred by nine out of ten people in his city.
“When we heard the news, we were flabbergasted,” said the mayor in his first public address since the announcement. We said to ourselves: “It can’t be”. »
Until the last minute, this staunch ally of the third motorway link tried to turn the tide, but was unsuccessful: the CAQ finally stayed the course, and trust was now broken. “Personally, I have no more time to waste with the project tabled this morning,” said the mayor of Lévis. Not a single minute to waste, because I don’t believe in it. »
According to him, the government, by reneging on its promise, is abandoning the regions. “There are only for Montreal, for Quebec. We pick up the crumbs that pass. »
The mayor of Lévis denies having been naive in placing absolute trust in a government that sometimes promised the largest tunnel in the world, sometimes a twin tube, and this, without ever encumbering itself with if not studies of convoluted indicators such as the number of bridges per million inhabitants.
“These promises were supported by the Premier of Quebec, insists Gilles Lehouillier. There was every reason to believe that the project would go ahead. »
tears and apologies
In the corridors of the National Assembly, the time was for contrition, Thursday, within the CAQ deputation. In tears, the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, apologized to the citizens of his riding of Lévis.
“It’s a very emotional subject,” he began before stopping, his voice breaking, his eyes watering. He continued by expressing his regret at not being able to keep the promise defended during the last campaign. “The commitment I made was sincere,” he said. A downtown-to-downtown connection is something I believe in. »
His colleague in the cabinet, Éric Caire, had promised to fight for the project until his “last drop of blood”. He was also determined to resign if the project was shelved. “I can understand people feeling betrayed,” he admitted Thursday. The situation, in his eyes, has however changed since his previous professions of faith.
“Today, reasoned the Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital, mathematics means that I cannot defend this project.”.
The representative of the riding of Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, Martine Biron, also made the leap into politics by endorsing the tunnel project. “I defended it tooth and nail,” said the Minister of International Relations. I’m hurt. »
Declining traffic
The data made public by the government questions the relevance of the third link outlined Thursday morning by Minister Geneviève Guilbault. The pandemic, these documents indicate, has led to a considerable drop in public transit trips between the south shore and downtown Quebec.
Between 2017 and the fall of 2022, well beyond the public service’s hybrid return-to-work policy adopted a year ago, the Société de transport de Lévis (STLévis) observed a 60% collapse in the number users in the direction of Parliament Hill, where the CAQ now plans to open a tunnel dedicated solely to public transit.
“With telework on Parliament Hill, STLévis has seen the number of users destined for it decrease (from more than 700 to 280 now)”, indicates a general summary of the Québec-Lévis tunnel dated April 19 and made public. Thursday morning.
The drop even led ST Lévis to reduce its service offer and reduce the number of departures to Parliament Hill. “The “recovered” buses were able to be reassigned to the Lévis side, continues the report. We can therefore say that there has been a transfer of customers and that, for STLévis, the intershore service has lost some of its importance in favor of a better intra-Lévis service. »
ST Lévis declined to comment.
“Considering this highly political situation […] the Société de transport de Lévis will not make any comment for the moment”, writes its management by email, adding that “it will leave the platform to the two political levels concerned”.
With Alexandre Robillard