Quebec Liberal Party calls for universal public transit card

QUEBEC -

A single public transit card should be implemented throughout Quebec.

That's what the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) proposes in the set of resolutions to be debated Saturday and Sunday at a general council in Drummondville, focused on rebuilding the party.

The Canadian Press obtained a copy of the document on Thursday.

It also includes proposals on the housing crisis, to benefit homeowners who make improvements to their apartments, but remains silent on the constitutional and nationalist demands that the QLP's revival committee called for in its report published Thursday.

On the subject of transportation, the QLP proposes putting an end to the multitude of transit passes and cards, to the benefit of transit users.

If the resolution is adopted, a Liberal Party in power would set up "a single payment platform for access to public transport throughout the territory and transport networks," regardless of the mode of transport used.

As a result, the resolution also calls for "a travel system allowing the use of a single universal transit card throughout Quebec."

However, there is no question of a single fare, as each regional transit authority would remain responsible for setting its own rates.

The party is also proposing a subsidy program for the purchase of electric bicycles, as exists in Europe.

The QLP will also debate the abolition of subsidies for greenhouse gas-emitting public transit vehicles, such as current diesel buses, in favour of subsidies for the purchase of electric buses.

The party also suggests reviving the debate on a high-speed train between Quebec City and Toronto.

HOUSING

In its multi-part framework resolution on housing, the QLP proposes, a rent indexation policy based on the cost of tenant improvements, among other things.

This contrasts with the rent increase calculation formula of the Administrative Housing Tribunal, which currently takes this into account, but in a reduced and modulated way due to depreciation.

The policy put into play would correspond "to market realities and the costs of tenant improvements made by private landlords."

However, it would be "phased in gradually so as to avoid rate shocks for tenants, while enabling landlords to maintain the rental housing stock and thus protect the quality of life and safety of their tenants," it says.

Finally, the QLP recommends the adoption of a bill against "abusive landlords."

This legislation would "raise awareness, prevent and combat intimidation, harassment and discrimination by abusive landlords with the aim of restricting a tenant's enjoyment of the premises in order to obtain his or her departure," it states.

Some twenty resolutions from regional authorities will also be debated over the weekend.

This general council is part of the process of rebuilding the party, decimated by the electoral debacles of 2018 and 2022 and the departure of its leader Dominique Anglade shortly afterwards.

In last year's general election, the PLQ fell below the 600,000-vote mark to 591,077 votes, slightly more than Éric Duhaime's Conservative Party (530,786) but less than Québec solidaire (634,535) and the Parti québécois (600,708). The party was wiped out in every region of Quebec except Montreal, Laval, Montérégie and Outaouais.

The party has been in steady decline since 2018 but remains the official opposition.

-This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 12, 2023.