Even if there was no real groundbreaking before the end of his first term, Minister Éric Caire wants to be re-elected to fight until his “last drop of blood” so that the third link is realized. . The costs and what environmental specialists think about it won’t change anything, he swears.
• Read also: The Pierre-Laporte Bridge and the 3rd link: two “independent” files, says Marchand
• Read also: State of the Pierre-Laporte bridge: we must “accelerate” the construction of the 3rd link, insists Lehouillier
“We’re going to do the third link. And I want the people of Quebec to know that this is a project for which I am ready to fight until my last drop of blood. We will achieve it, even if the federal government has decided to get involved, ”he said during a review interview.
The minister had already put his seat in the National Assembly on the line, assuring that the CAQ would carry out this project, now estimated at $6.5 billion, linking downtown Quebec and Lévis.
Quebec is asking the federal government to pay 40% of the bill.
“The idea of bringing the seat into play is not to say whether there will be six inches of earth that will be packed down. The idea is to be resolutely committed to carrying out this project, ”he pleads today.
Ottawa’s environmental assessment will have no impact on the work, he believes.
Leg
He even wants this project to be his legacy, just like his work as the first Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital in the history of Quebec.
“I put that tied, because for me, the third link for the economic development of the region, there is something important at stake with the current state of the two bridges”, mentions the Minister, n’ not convinced that transport needs are limited to public transport.
He nevertheless defends the tram, because it fits into a plan that includes a bus service to the suburbs and the third link.
To geographers, city planners and environmentalists who criticize the project, he thinks a tunnel will not produce long-term greenhouse gases due to electric vehicles.
However, specialists agree that simply replacing gasoline-powered vehicles with electric vehicles does not solve the problems of urban sprawl. “The notion of urban sprawl is not the same for everyone,” replies Éric Caire.
” Sideshows »
Some analysts are harsh towards the sheriff of La Peltrie, and believe that his position within the Council of Ministers is in danger.
“I think they weren’t interested in my mandate, they were interested in side shows, which had no connection with Éric Caire, Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital, he says. Because if that is what is analyzed, I am extremely proud of my record. » (see other text below)
Recently, he claimed that the mayor of Quebec and his project of shared streets for the tramway were polluting the lives of motorists. This statement earned him strong criticism.
According to him, this outing did not harm him with his constituents and the CAQ caucus. He assumes it, but “regrets” having intervened in a file that was not his.
“I had the opportunity to settle this with Geneviève [Guilbault] and Francois [Bonnardel]. In my job, you’re not there to reveal your moods. There’s no excuse for that,” he concludes.
Several mandates to complete the digital shift
The Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital believes that it will “maybe” two more mandates to complete the digital shift. Even if laws have been passed, citizens will have to be patient before obtaining their services on a government mobile application.
As for the construction of the third link between Quebec and Lévis, Minister Éric Caire persists and signs: Quebecers will one day be able to obtain state security services on their cell phones. In both cases, however, they will have to be patient.
“If we want to achieve a mobile application where all government services can be consumed on our phone, with notifications to renew, for example, our driving licenses […], it will take another term, maybe a third. Not me, Éric Caire, but for the government,” said the minister during a review interview.
“A lot of work to do”
Enforcement is “the ultimate goal,” he says, but so far nothing is set in stone.
The minister maintains that there is still a lot of work to be done before injecting the hundreds of millions of dollars needed.
“The law has been passed, but the problem we have is that we have to reorganize the data […] we have several years to come, ”says the elected representative of La Peltrie, “proud” of the work accomplished. According to him, Quebec has “came out of obscurantism” in computer matters.
“It’s been four pretty intense years. When we arrived, it was a mess,” he says.
“We needed to reform the law on the protection of personal data […] And we succeeded. He believes that Quebec is now a leader in America in this area.
IT brothel
“I don’t know what will happen to me on October 3. But the balance sheet that I leave, I am very proud of. I know everyone will say that, but I think I have two or three little things that come to prove the work that has been done, ”he pleads.
It is true that the Minister participated in the adoption of five bills in addition to tabling, without fanfare, the first cybersecurity policy.
“When we arrived, the simple word cybersecurity did not exist in the vocabulary of the public service,” he explains.
He also pleads that the brothel is well and truly behind him, even if projects, such as the emergency radiocommunication network (RENIR), have cost and still cost too much.