Spencer Colby The Canadian Press The Canadian Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Jean-Yves Duclos, the Last May 5
The inaccuracies on the resurrection of the third link can be explained by the fact that François Legault remains in shock from the setback his party suffered in the riding of Jean-Talon on Monday, estimates the Canadian Minister of Public Services and of Supply, Jean-Yves Duclos.
Federal MP for Quebec, Mr. Duclos says he understands why the provincial premier wants to consult the population of the greater Quebec region on the subject, in particular, of transport infrastructure. “We understand Mr. Legault a little,” he said at a press briefing in Quebec on Thursday. He experienced an electoral shock on Monday. Well, he must have thought about this with other people on his team. »
After participating in an inauguration in the region, Mr. Duclos estimated that only Mr. Legault, who this week raised the idea of a new Quebec-Lévis bridge, which has been ruled out, will be in able to dispel the vagueness surrounding his proposal.
“When we have a shock, we sometimes say things that require a certain precision afterwards. So, exactly, what? We have to put ourselves in Mr. Legault’s head, and I don’t think that neither you nor I are better placed than him to do so,” explained the federal elected official.
For this reason, therefore, it is still too early for Ottawa to clarify its role, said Mr. Duclos. “People know that you have to wait to see a project before being able to talk about it and decide on its possible financing. »
Tuesday, after losing the riding of Jean-Talon in a by-election, Mr. Legault resurrected the idea of a third road link project between Quebec and Lévis, while promising to consult the population on this subject.
On Wednesday, federal Liberal MP Joël Lightbound, elected in the region, described this consultation project as a “constunt dinner.”
Lack of serious, says the PLQ
At the National Assembly on Thursday, the opposition parties reacted to the most recent hypothesis put forward by Mr. Legault, who spoke on Wednesday of a bridge connecting the two banks of the St. Lawrence River in the region of the capital.
The parliamentary leader of the official opposition, Monsef Derraji, does not believe in this proposal. According to the member of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), the Prime Minister no longer has credibility since he renounced his electoral promise of a highway tunnel in April. “The Prime Minister lied, broke his promise. And today, he is throwing another proposal into the air without a timetable, without a plan and, above all, [without saying] how he is going to finance it. »
Mr. Derraji doubts that the Quebec government has the means to finance such highway infrastructure without help from Ottawa. “I no longer believe François Legault. There is no one in Quebec who believes Mr. Legault now. It’s very serious what’s happening. He can no longer do what he did [in] the last two elections. The honeymoon is over. »
According to the Liberal MP, the government will have to come with concrete plans to be taken seriously. “Let him come with a sketch, with a business chart, with financing, and how he’s going to finance it. There, I'm going to believe it. But continuing to do what he has done since the last two elections, I don't buy that anymore,” he said.
Broken bridges
The Parti Québécois, for its part, rebounded from the electoral defeat of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) in Jean-Talon to also cast doubt on the hypothesis of a bridge between the two banks of the river.
“The bridges between the CAQ government and the population of the Quebec region and Lévis and Chaudière-Appalaches are broken, and these are the ones that must be reestablished,” said MP Joël Arseneau. Restoring trust is not done by going back, by yo-yoing, between a formal promise that we will keep at all costs, then a complete withdrawal of that promise, then a return with that promise. . It does not work. »
Québec solidaire asserts that the option of a highway bridge does not correspond to the public transportation needs of the greater Quebec region. “We need to find an alternative to the car,” said MP Sol Zanetti. The only thing that will reduce congestion on these bridges is to ensure that more people move together at the same time and more quickly. Then that’s called public transportation. »
With Sébastien Tanguay