No money on the table after Quebec transport minister meets with mayors on public transit deficits

Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault talks to mayors responsible for transit companies during a virtual meeting on Monday, May 6, 2024. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

No money was put on the table at a meeting on Monday between Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault and the mayors responsible for the transit authorities as there was no agreement on the deficit figures.

"In order to find solutions to funding issues, we need to work on a common and rigorous basis of figures, because we're talking about taxpayers' money here. The minister has reiterated this," said Guilbault's communications director, Maxime Roy.

However, he provided assurances that there was money available.

Last week, the government said it was prepared to absorb fare revenue losses linked to a drop in ridership since the pandemic (what it calls cyclical deficits) but not structural deficits.

However, some transit companies do not have cyclical deficits, only structural ones, and the government now seems open to finding a way to help them, too.

"We have also reiterated our desire to ensure predictability, by ruling this autumn on the amounts for the coming years, once we have received the audits. The elected representatives agreed on the need to settle the issue of the 2025 deficits by the summer. Further meetings will be held in the coming weeks," Roy said.

On X, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal said it welcomed the minister's openness and "considers this the beginning of a conversation to be continued on the financing of [public transit]."

Tense relations

Monday's meeting took place at a time of particularly tense relations between the cities and the government.

Two weeks ago, Guilbault caused an uproar when she asserted that managing public transit was not the State's mission. Her comments provoked an avalanche of criticism. Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand said he had lost confidence in Guilbault and that she had no vision.

Premier François Legault went further than his minister, saying it was easier for mayors to "beg" from the Quebec government "than to clean up their spending."

The mayors are trying to find a solution to the major deficits plaguing their transit companies and are considering several scenarios, including service cuts.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 6, 2024.