While Quebec and Ottawa are still throwing the ball to each other regarding the financing of the additional costs of the tramway project, the mayor of Quebec is once again pressing the Legault government to give him the green light to launch the calls for tenders.
• Read also: The CAQ slows down the tramway, according to QS and the PLQ
For the second time in as many weeks, Bruno Marchand showed signs of impatience on Monday by publicly challenging the CAQ government.
Time is running out, according to the mayor of Quebec, who is calling for two decrees in order to launch calls for proposals as quickly as possible for rolling stock – initially – as well as for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure.
The City hoped to launch the RFP for the rolling stock on Tuesday. However, the Council of Ministers has still not adopted the decree necessary to move forward. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, hence this second cry from the heart of the mayor.
“No reason” to wait
“There is no reason to further delay the launch of tenders. We have a historic responsibility to provide future generations with cities where it is easy to get around, to breathe quality air and where the effects of climate change can be limited,” said Bruno Marchand in a press release broadcast on the Monday dinner time.
“The Quebec government is working to achieve its GHG reduction targets. To achieve this, it relies on the electrification of transport. The Québec tramway is one of the largest transportation electrification projects in the country. Consortia have qualified to carry it out,” he recalls in his plea, adding that the City of Quebec “has done its homework” over the years.
Remember that the tramway project is now valued at nearly $4 billion. The most recent Léger poll, conducted in Quebec City in January, revealed a drop in popular support for the project, which then stood at 41%.
The tramway “will not solve everything”
The Quebec tramway “will not solve everything”, we recognize in the press release, but it will be “the backbone of the reorganization of mobility in the greater Quebec City region, including between the two shores”, insists- we.
Last week, the minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region, Geneviève Guilbault, sent the ball back to Ottawa, deploring that the federal government was slow to commit to the cost overruns and to confirm that it would assume 40% of the bill.
The PLQ and QS attacked the Legault government, accusing it once again of trying to delay the tramway project.
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Reference-www.journaldequebec.com