Guilbault remains vague on the timetable for the Quebec tramway

Photo: Jacques Boissinot The Canadian Press While Geneviève Guilbault remained vague about the timeline, she was more specific about the problems related to Ottawa's financial contribution. The federal government keeps saying that it “is there,” the minister said, but “the cheque is not arriving.”

Isabelle Porter in Quebec

Published on September 27

• Québec

The tramway project is once again in the dark in Quebec, with the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government taking its time to reach an agreement with CDPQ Infra on what to do next.

On Friday morning, Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault spent two hours dodging opposition questions on the subject in the Salon Rouge. “I feel like I’ve been talking about the tramway for seven years,” she said with a hint of weariness at the start of a long exchange.

Pressed to say when the transitional agreement with CDPQ Infra on the tramway would be concluded and when construction would begin, she remained vague. “Things are continuing to move forward,” she repeated, before saying that it would be “insane” to believe that she could give a start date for the work at this stage.

Recall that in June, the government gave the green light to the first phase of the CITÉ project submitted to Quebec by CDPQ Infra, the cost of which was then estimated at $5.27 billion.

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“Several meetings” of the transition committee

In mid-September, CDPQ Infra CEO Jean-Marc Arbaud said his organization could start the project while waiting for the new transportation agency Mobilité Infra Québec to be set up. “It has to start quickly,” he said during his appearance before the parliamentary committee.

As for Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand, he called for an agreement between CDPQ Infra and the government to be reached before the end of September.

Minister Guilbault made no commitments in this regard, but mentioned that the transition committee made up of representatives from CDPQ Infra, the ministry and the City of Quebec had met several times since June. “The transition committee met all summer,” she said. A meeting was also held on Tuesday, September 24, she noted.

On Friday, Solidarity MNA Étienne Grandmont had invited Minister Guilbault to a two-hour interpellation on the tramway issue. “What is causing this to be blocked??” he asked her. Shortly before, the PQ MNA for Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Joël Arseneau, had said that this was a “moment of truth” in the tramway file. For his part, Liberal Monsef Derraji has repeatedly pressed the minister to decide on the signing of the agreement and the start date of the work.

Read also

• The “fooling around” about the tramway must stop, says Québec solidaire
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Federal funding in doubt

While Minister Guilbault remained vague on the construction schedule, she was more specific about the problems related to Ottawa’s financial contribution. Under an agreement reached in March 2023, the federal government must finance 40% of the tramway project.

The federal government keeps saying it “is there,” she said, but “the cheque is not coming.” Earlier in September, his colleague Jonatan Julien had declared that “there was no issue with funding” from Ottawa.

Geneviève Guilbault also lamented that there has been no federal funding program for public transit since 2023. Speaking of a “hole” in funding, she pointed out that the new program’s pockets were not supposed to open until 2026.

The opposition parties in the National Assembly and the mayor of Quebec City fear that the Trudeau government will fall before the funds from Ottawa are disbursed. The Conservative Party of Canada, which is leading in cross-Canada polls, has made it clear that it has no intention of funding the project.