(Quebec) The Legault government’s “poorly put together” and “haywire” plan to provide $500 plane tickets to the regions is severely criticized by the opposition parties, while the Minister of Transport François Bonnardel rectifies shooting and will eventually allow foreign tourists to access its program.
Posted at 7:05 p.m.
“There is nothing attached. It’s badly put together, it seems obvious. Obviously, they’re building the plane mid-flight, but they have no excuse. I do not see how they can justify such an improvisation with all the time they have had to develop it, ”denounces the parliamentary leader of the Parti Québécois Joël Arseneau in a telephone interview.
Mr. Bonnardel announced last Tuesday a regional air transport subsidy program to offer $500 “round trips” by plane to a series of regional destinations, such as Rouyn-Noranda, Gaspé, Saguenay or the Îles-de-la -Madeleine. In total, it provides 261 million in five years. He said at the time that foreign tourists would also be entitled to the program.
The next day, in an interview with 98.5 FM, Mr. Bonnardel said, however, that Canadians outside Quebec could not get the $500 tickets. He also added a cap to the number of tickets available, saying that Quebecers will be able to “benefit from at least three plane tickets per year”. During this interview, he also affirmed that nearly 100% of plane tickets will be displayed at the price of $500.
Bonnardel’s mistake
Mr. Bonnardel’s office is now saying that the minister misspoke and that tourists, regardless of their origin, will have access to the program. For the rest of the terms, we will have to wait for the end of negotiations with the air carriers that will participate in the program: no way to find out more.
Why make an announcement whose details are still not known? “Our goal was to announce the plan quickly so that Quebecers know that it will be possible to travel to Quebec this summer for $500 or less,” explained Claudia Loupret, the minister’s press secretary.
For Mr. Arseneau, MP for the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, this is not acceptable. He recalls that Mr. Bonnardel’s plan has been expected since June 2020, when Air Canada ended most of its regional air routes. Today, he laments, we find ourselves above all with a tourist plan to make “people from the cities” travel. And those who need it won’t wait until June 1 to plan their vacation.
We were sold this as a recovery plan. But it’s not that. There is no analysis of the situation, no objective to achieve, no indicator, and only one way to achieve it, the $500 tickets.
Joël Arseneau, parliamentary leader of the Parti Québécois
” Flashy ”
The Solidarity MNA for Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue, Émilise Lessard-Therrien believes that this plan, like many CAQ projects, boils down to a “flashy” announcement that loses a lot of luster “when scratches the varnish. “The problem with regional air transport is its cost yes, but also the frequency and service. Here we ask ourselves, what objective do we want to meet? If the objective is to take tourists by plane, that will pose other transportation challenges, such as car rental, for example,” she says.
Liberal André Fortin, MP for Pontiac, for his part defends his region, the Outaouais, ignored by the government. “It is deeply unfair. A Montrealer can go to Rouyn-Noranda for $500. A citizen of Quebec can go to Gaspé for $500, but a resident of Gatineau must travel to Montreal to have access to a destination,” he laments.