Hanes: Stalemate over REM de l’Est has Valérie Plante in tough position

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The promoters of the $10-billion REM de l’Est are trying to turn up the political heat on Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.

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Without her endorsement, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s infrastructure arm says the biggest public transit investment in the city’s history can’t move forward.

A week after it unveiled a new-and-improved design for the 32-kilometre mostly elevated light-rail line from downtown to the east end that didn’t do much to alleviate concerns about the scar it would leave on the urban landscape, CDPQ Infra has asked for a postponement of hearings that were supposed to take place this spring. The delay in going before the Bureau des audiences publiques sur l’environnement would in turn push back construction.

So the entire REM de l’Est seems to be hanging in the balance — and apparently only Plante can save it. Which is odd, considering the mayor was always just a bystander to a project conjured up on a whim at the behest of Premier François Legault’s government. It’s even more ironic, given Plante’s repeated calls to have a seat at the decision-making table with the pension fund have been ignored.

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Nevertheless, Plante is now between a rock and a hard place, not wanting to lose out on the massive investment in public transit being dangled before Montreal, yet trying to ensure it doesn’t become a blight that citizens regret for generations to come.

Even the updated design of the REM de l’Est has serious flaws, with the elevated tracks threatening to obliterate the view of Chinatown’s iconic red arches from the north, impede waterfront views along Notre-Dame St. E. and cast shadows over densely populated residential neighborhoods in Ville-Marie and Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. Despite the work that went into refining the aesthetic aspects of the design, the project still lacks social acceptability.

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To rub salt in the wound, the city would be on the hook financially for many of the bells and whistles CDPQ Infra has added to make the REM de l’Est more palatable, all the public spaces, bike paths, pedestrian corridors and greenery, which are not included in the $10-billion price tag.

Plante said progress has been made, but that there’s still room for improvement. That’s not enough for CDPQ Infra, which doesn’t want input from stakeholders like city hall or the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain, but still wants their approval.

Yet saying flat-out not to a $10-billion investment in public transit, no matter how problematic, would also be a huge folly for Plante — and Montreal. That kind of money may never be on the table again as suburbs like Longueuil clamor to be next in line for a light-rail line.

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The resulting bad blood could also compromise other crucial transit infrastructure work, like the métro’s long-stalled Blue Line extension. Every level of government has said it’s committed to it, but it has taken a backseat in terms of priorities since the REM de l’Est was announced.

Plante helped paint herself into a corner. After campaigning on a new Pink Line for the métro, she greeted parts of the proposed tramway to Lachine and the REM de l’Est project as fulfilling the same needs. So if CDPQ Infra pulls the plug, the Quebec government wo n’t be writing her a check to revive her signature promise from her. In fact, they’re more likely to give Montreal the cold shoulder.

As both the Legault government and CDPQ Infra ramp up the pressure on Plante, the subtext is that it will be her fault if the REM de l’Est falls. But if a monstrosity is built on her watch de ella, Plante will also take the blame for helping ram through a project many Montrealers do n’t want.

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It’s a clever trap, and more than a little unfair.

This political stalemate over the REM de l’Est just highlights the absurdity of handing over responsibility to design, build and operate a public transit project to a private entity that really sees it as a vehicle for development. The opening up of former industrial lands, the potential to create 70,000 housing units atop stations, and the burning of CDPQ’s credibility on the international infrastructure market are objectives as important as bringing much-needed transit to east-end Montrealers.

Perhaps these priorities could all be brought into balance if there were more stakeholders at the table and clear expectations about everyone’s role. But it is becoming increasingly clear, if it wasn’t already, that the REM de l’Est is a take-it-or-leave it proposition with high political stakes for Montreal.