Bill 61 creating the Mobilite Infra Quebec agency is adopted

Montreal construction site. FILE - (Daniel J. Rowe/CTV News)

On Wednesday, the Quebec legislature passed Bill 61 creating the Mobilité Infra Québec agency by a vote of 77 to 27.

Its mandate will be to deliver complex transport projects more quickly and at lower cost, according to Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility Geneviève Guilbault.

When she introduced her bill on May 9, Guilbault criticized the lack of expertise within the Quebec government for large-scale public transport projects.

She said she wanted to pave the way for a “revolution” by creating an independent agency made up of a “small, hyper-agile team focused on innovation and results.”

Guilbault also wanted the government to become less dependent on the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ infra).

Mobilité Infra Québec will therefore be given mandates by the government. It will carry out “opportunity analysis, planning and implementation of complex transport projects.”

The new agency will employ between 30 and 50 people, and the minister hopes it will be up and running by 2025. Guilbault estimates its operating costs at $6 million for the first year, rising to around $9 million annually.

Bill 61 was greeted with scepticism by the opposition parties, who accused the government of squandering public funds by adding a new structure with no guarantee of improved services.

On Wednesday, the three opposition parties voted against the bill, while the majority CAQ members voted in favour. Independent MNAs Eric Lefebvre and Youri Chassin abstained from voting.

“Adding a centralized bureaucratic structure, a government pet project, (...) will not make up for the transport companies’ deficits and will not add any new money for new means of public transport,” Caroline Senneville, President of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), reacted in a press release.

The union represents thousands of public transport workers.

“Now that the Coalition Avenir Québec has once again played its favourite game of overhauling structures, we must hope that all the minister's energies will go into developing new public transport projects and providing the necessary funding to maintain them properly,” she added.

The Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ) thanked Guilbault for taking its concerns into account and making changes to the bill.

In particular, the UMQ pointed out that the provision allowing the government to unilaterally set the financial contribution of municipalities to a public transport project had been withdrawn.

Public transport companies will be able to enter into property development partnerships, and Mobilité Infra Québec will have to consider operating and maintenance costs when planning public transport projects.

“Now that the Quebec government has a lever for developing structured public transport, it is essential that we work together to increase the range of services on offer,” said Guillaume Tremblay, UMQ first vice-president and Mascouche Mayor.

 “An ambitious vision and swift action are needed to support the development of public transport in all regions of Quebec,” he added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 4, 2024.