Éric Duhaime would quickly ax the tram

If he came to power on October 3, Éric Duhaime would immediately ax the Quebec tramway project, even if it means sacrificing more than $250 million of public money already committed to this megaproject.

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“If we manage for $250M, it will be at a low cost because the project is $4B. With cost overruns, it could easily be around $5B. We are going to get our finger out of the wringer fairly quickly, ”assured the Conservative leader, late Tuesday morning, during a press briefing held in Quebec.

According to him, “it is obvious that there will be costs. You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. But better to do it as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the worse it will be. »

As of December 31, 2021, the sums committed for the plans and specifications as well as for the preliminary works of the tramway exceeded $ 250 million, according to data from the City of Quebec.

Mr. Duhaime opposes the tramway project. Instead, he advocates the establishment of a pilot project to make public transit free in Quebec. According to him, the cost of such a measure would be $80 million per year, the portion currently paid by users.

Falsehood and terror!

On the other hand, the Conservative leader affirmed that the Premier of Quebec “lied” to the population about the third link between Quebec and Lévis.

On Tuesday, a Radio-Canada article claimed that « exhaustive data » on the feasibility of the third link project has existed for more than a year in a study conducted by the consortium responsible for carrying out the opportunity study.

« I don’t want to call him a liar, but obviously he lied, » Duhaime dropped, again demanding that the government publish the studies and reports that exist on this megaproject.

Moreover, the latter deplored the fact that he still has not received these reports despite his two requests for access to information filed last week.

“I know there are people who want to talk [au sein du ministère des Transports]. I know there are people who have data in hand. I tell them: ‘There are six days left, it’s now or never,’” he implored.

If these sources are so rare, it is because of « internal terror », he believes. « You know that in Quebec, whistleblowers don’t always have it easy, » he insisted. These people are a little terrified at the moment.

« That’s enough, the secretiveness », proclaims QS

« That’s enough, the secretiveness, » repeated in turn the spokesperson for Quebec solidaire Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, who was campaigning Tuesday morning in the riding of Jean-Talon.

“We have the right to be for the third link, we have the right to be against the third link. This is an important debate in the Quebec region; but whether we are for or against, people have the right to know how much it will cost, ”recalled Mr. Nadeau-Dubois, for whom it is a question of transparency.

“Me, I am able to respect the opinion of people who want a third link, but hiding figures, hiding information, it is not acceptable. Mr. Legault must make public all the information he has on his project.

Lack of respect

The leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, believes that the outgoing Prime Minister, François Legault, cannot be trusted and he is asking him to make the studies on the third link public.

“It is a lack of sincerity and transparency towards the population. It also lacks respect for the intelligence of the population,” he said. “The principle is that these are public funds and that it should be available and transparent […]. It’s not his money. »

– With the collaboration of Marc-André Gagnon and Nicolas Lachance, Parliamentary Office