Premier François Legault announced, in a speech delivered Thursday at the opening of the Assises de l’Union des Municipalités du Québec (UMQ), that a $113 million program funding green initiatives would soon see the light of day. .
Prime Minister François Legault attended the official opening ceremony of the Assises of the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) on Thursday.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Roxanne Langlois
According to Mr. Legault, this financial assistance could, for example, contribute to financing cool island projects, parks and shoreline development
.
” It will be available in the next few weeks. »
Elected officials on the lookout
This announcement has far from gone unnoticed among the elected representatives of the regions. In Gaspésie, Bas-Saint-Laurent and on the North Shore, mayors hope to benefit from this assistance to complete certain projects already in the pipeline.
The mayor of Percé, Cathy Poirier, intends to check whether the Oasis program could be used in the construction of the future ecological street, a commercial artery that will test a new type of asphalt incorporating recycled plastic.
The Mayor of Percé is co-chair of the 2022 Assize Commission of the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ).
Photo: Radio-Canada / Roxanne Langlois
We are still looking for funding. We still have to attach this financing. It is perhaps towards this path that we will be able to turn
she hopes.
” It is certain that each time there are programs for green development, we are interested in them. It also interests, of course, the municipal world as a whole. »
In Rimouski, Mayor Guy Caron believes that these funds could be useful for revitalizing the city center, an initiative that was part of his electoral commitments. If he welcomes the announcement of the Legault government, he nevertheless remains realistic, specifying that the needs, everywhere in Quebec, are great
.
The mayor of Rimouski, Guy Caron, was part of the delegation of elected officials from Bas-Saint-Laurent present at the 2022 meeting of the Union of Quebec municipalities.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Roxanne Langlois
Before getting carried away, he wants to wait to learn about the ins and outs of the program.
” The intention is good, but you have to have the funds that follow the intention. We will wait to see what will be announced more specifically. »
If the 113 million that will be available form an envelope interesting
according to the mayor of Carleton-sur-Mer, Mathieu Lapointe, he foresees that it will undoubtedly be distributed quickly.
The mayor of Carleton-sur-Mer, Mathieu Lapointe, photographed in one of the corridors of the Center des congrès de Québec, where the Assises are held (archives).
Photo: Radio-Canada / Roxanne Langlois
Mayor Lapointe recalls in particular that the envelope made available under the Financial Assistance Program for Recreational and Sports Infrastructure, which recently ended, andst far from having responded to the request of the municipalities.
Mayor Lapointe is nevertheless eager to learn about the terms of the program.
” What we hope is that the program can be modulated for the different realities of all the regions of Quebec and the realities that we live in the territory, at home, too. »
The mayor of Baie-Comeau, Yves Montigny, believes that the green public square project, which received financial assistance under the Plan Nord, could have benefited from the Oasis program if it had existed at the time.
The mayor of Baie-Comeau, Yves Montigny, at the foundations of the UMQ, in Quebec.
Photo: Radio-Canada
Now it’s not just this project […]. We will work on other projects in the municipality to be able to provide attractive living environments
adds the mayor.
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca