Legault government relying on emails to determine opposition to Quebec City tramway

The provincial minister responsible for the Quebec City region seemed to suggest Thursday the CAQ government is relying on emails to find out if the population is against the city's tramway project.

The day before, Premier François Legault had criticized Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand for not consulting and listening to his fellow citizens on the controversial project, which is close to $4 billion.

According to Legault, citizens are concerned and have questions, particularly about a section that should be shared between the tramway, motorists and pedestrians. The government has, therefore, set new conditions to issue an order-in-council on April 6 that would allow the project to go ahead.

"There are citizens in Quebec City who are worried, who would like to see the project improved," he said in the National Assembly Chamber.

Marchand defended himself Wednesday by saying that several consultations have been conducted and are continuing: a majority of citizens in the area would support the scenario of a shared section.

However, Guilbault relied on the opinions of citizens who write to constituency offices.

"We have nine out of 11 ridings and we've been getting a lot of emails about the streetcar for months at our constituency offices throughout the Quebec City area," she said. 

One contractor with more than 1,000 workers said many other employers are "extremely concerned" about the project, but wouldn't dare say so, she said, ading that the views of citizens in the suburbs must be taken into account. 

"Yes, Quebec City, the City of Lévis, are important, but there are 24 other municipalities that are affected by the vision of development and mobility in this large metropolitan community.

"The CAQ's argument is that it will slow down the people of Portneuf," said André Fortin, the official opposition's transportation critic. "This is not serious. Portneuf is 60 km from Quebec City."

The CAQ government is trying to "kill the project," he said.

According to Québec solidaire, this is because the CAQ is worried about the rise of Éric Duhaime's Conservative Party, which is against the tramway project.

"When I look at the polls, I don't take anything for granted, but I'm not stressing either," said Legault during the question period. "There may be others who are stressing, but I'm not stressing, because we're listening to the citizens."

Another issue is cost overruns. The Legault government wants assurances that the federal government will fund part of the cost overruns, which would amount to $1 billion.

Transport Minister François Bonnardel said he will meet with federal Infrastructure Minister Dominic LeBlanc next week to discuss the issue.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 24, 2022.