The PQ commits to reviewing its position on the third link

Photo: Jacques Boissinot The Canadian Press The PQ's opposition to a highway project between the two banks is still current, attested its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.

The leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, pleaded Thursday in favor of better infrastructure in a sovereign Quebec and pledged to “review” his party's proposal on the subject of the third link between Quebec and Lévis by the 2026 elections.

“I will eventually come back to you with an improved version [of the third link]. Obviously, we could say: “The Parti Québécois opens or does not close the door to…” But that is speculative. We have homework to do,” the PQ leader told reporters. They insisted on knowing the place reserved for the automobile in the new project of the party's third link.

The PQ's opposition to a highway project between the two banks is still current, its leader attested. He was more evasive about what happened next.

“I am committed to reviewing our 2022 proposal in light of where this file will end up. Because obviously, we don’t know where it’s gone. What the Caisse de dépôt is going to make as a proposal, what the [Coalition Avenir Québec] is going to make as a commitment means that we will obviously have to look at this again. But our position, in terms of public transport, is exactly the same,” he said.

In 2022, the PQ proposed a third link project exclusively reserved for public transportation. “Obviously, 2026 requires work again, and we can talk,” said Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon in response to a question about a possible change of position.

Better infrastructure in a sovereign Quebec

The PQ leader also highlighted the importance of “better transportation infrastructure” in a sovereign Quebec. “When we acquire the status of international capital, when there are hundreds of embassies arriving, overnight, and there is an economic boost, we must have the infrastructure to match this. status,” he said. If Quebec were to host “hundreds of embassies”, it would surpass Washington in the number of permanent deputations installed on its soil.

Wednesday, the mayor of Lévis, Gilles Lehouillier, promoted the third link project by highlighting the independence of Quebec. “In the event that Quebec becomes a country, try to imagine a capital with two obsolete infrastructures between the two banks,” declared the mayor – also a former Liberal MP – in a press scrum that several people spoke about Quebec media.

His statement took the PQ leader by surprise. “I spend a lot of time in my life thinking and talking about arguments in favor of the independence of Quebec, but I must admit that I had never conceived, in my head, an argument between the third link and the independence of Quebec,” said Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon. “And there’s one part he’s absolutely right about, I reiterate. Quebec, regardless of its status as an international capital, Quebec, given the size and importance of this city for Quebec, deserves better than its transport infrastructure, currently. »