The mayor of Quebec has set the table on the demands of municipalities to curb urban sprawl by affirming that the government has a “dangerous populist” discourse and uses “false” arguments on the issue.
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At the dawn of the largest gathering of Quebec cities, Bruno Marchand spoke for the delegates who are meeting these days in Quebec for the annual meeting of the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ). According to him, the concerns raised by cities on the fight against climate change and on housing are shared by citizens.
Aiming at “certain ministers”, including that of Transport, François Bonnardel, he underlined that, according to him, the government does not fully understand the problem of urban sprawl.
“really dangerous”
“When we are told that [la densification] is a trend, when we are told: who are we to tell people where to live, and especially when we confuse land use and densification, there is something that is important and that people see [clairement]. We cannot go into this populist discourse, which is really dangerous. »
He repeated that the urban sprawl caused in particular by the construction of new roads which lead people to settle far from their place of work is very different from the occupation of the territory by the people who live and work there.
“When we say: ‘densification equals everyone living in Montreal or Quebec City’, that is very, very misunderstanding the issue. […] Densification is not in opposition to the occupation of the territory. When I hear the government use that argument, I think it is fallacious. »
Concerned
Very concerned about climate change, the mayors will ask the government for additional tools to support them in the fight, but also for additional housing to promote the densification of cities, argued the mayor of Gaspé and president of the UMQ, Daniel Côté. . He referred to the results of a 2019 study which estimated the municipal financial needs for adaptation to climate change at $4 billion.
“Not a fad”
The latter disagrees with the words of Minister Bonnardel, who argued that densification is “a fad”. “Densification is not a fad. It’s a major global trend, let’s take it for granted, and when we talk about densification and land use planning, we are squarely in the jurisdiction of municipalities. »
Minister François Bonnardel did not wish to react to Mr. Marchand’s remarks, contenting himself with saying: “I respect his position. His press attaché, Claudia Loupret, reminded that the Minister of Municipal Affairs will soon table her policy on land use planning which will deal with these issues.
– With the collaboration of Marc-André Gagnon
“ As elected municipal officials, we want to promote densification for economic and ecological reasons, without having to impose it on Mr. and Mrs. Everyone. This is where there is a challenge of comprehension. »
– Daniel Côté, mayor of Gaspé and president of the UMQ
“ I expect the government to grasp the urgency, to speak accordingly and to act [soient] vigorous. »
– Bruno Marchand, Mayor of Quebec