(Quebec) Bernard Drainville wants to convince the “skeptics” with the public transport tunnel project between Quebec and Lévis, which is not at all “theoretical”. He also hopes that this project will be implemented by 2026.
“Do you have to step on the accelerator? You know, there are major public transit projects that have been done in the past, and I dare to believe that we are capable of arriving in 2026 and having something that shows that we have made progress and that ‘we have really made progress, and the production is in progress. That’s my goal, “launched the Minister of Education at the end of the special caucus of Caquiste deputies from the regions of Quebec and Chaudière-Appalaches.
The public transport project that replaces the motorway tunnel, abandoned last week, has its share of skeptics. The mayor of Lévis, Gilles Lehouillier, does not believe in it, and the CAQ MP for Bellechasse, Stéphanie Lachance, believes that it will not be useful for the voters of her riding.
Bernard Drainville hopes to convince them. As the MP for Lévis, he believes that arriving in 2026 with a project in progress would prove that these are not just “talks”.
“I hear the skepticism of many of our fellow citizens regarding this project, but my responsibility now is to deliver this project, to prove that we intend to do it and that it will be a project which will be structuring, which will contribute to development”, he launched.
As for the request of his riding neighbor, Martine Biron, to obtain compensation for the abandonment of the promise, Mr. Drainville affirms that François Legault “did not promise anyone a consolation prize”. “It’s not how it works,” he said.
He then listed the projects that require public funds in his constituency. “Me, in Lévis, I have projects: the second ice of the Lévis arena, the Hôtel-Dieu, the cegep performance hall. I had to have two enlarged schools, we decided to stop the work because it was too expensive. I need a new school,” he said.
At the end of the meeting, the member for Charlevoix-Côte-de-Beaupré, Kariane Bourassa, affirmed that she remained in caucus. She doesn’t “think,” however, that Premier Francois Legault should apologize, even though there was, she says, a miscommunication.
For her part, Minister Martine Biron affirmed that the caucus is “united” and that the elected officials “really want to move forward, continue, do things for our citizens. “The word growl is bad.” I think we can speak of disappointment. Then I think we decided we were in for working together and moving forward,” she said.
In the morning, the CAQ MPs from the Quebec and Chaudière-Appalaches regions had shared their anger and disappointment before meeting in a special caucus.
“I want to somehow show him this anger that has been rumbling in me for almost a week,” dropped Montmorency MP Jean-François Simard.
The president of the Committee on Public Finance also wants to report to François Legault “the many discussions, the many emails that I received”. “There’s a mix of emotion, you know, disbelief, misunderstanding, disappointment, sometimes even anger,” he said.
He expected to be told how the integration between the populations of the North Shore and the South Shore of the St. Lawrence will continue.
Minister Martine Biron, who represents the riding of Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, reiterated what she had told La Presse the day before: her region must be compensated for this broken promise. “I think that’s what we usually do when we don’t keep our promises. I’ll give it to you, I owe you one. The elevator has to come back up,” she blurted out in the morning.
Stéphanie Lachance has already openly criticized the alternative to the highway tunnel abandoned by the CAQ. The transit tunnel proposed by Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault is not “a winning formula” for her riding, she said last week.
“For the past week, we have been hearing what our citizens are telling us. I come to carry the voice of the citizens of Bellechasse. They are sometimes angry, sometimes disappointed, some are downright angry. We have to work together to find solutions to bring it all together,” she said. She would have liked to have learned of the Prime Minister’s decision sooner. She was made aware last Tuesday.
Arriving at the meeting, Kariane Bourassa acknowledged that there is “clearly” dissatisfaction in her riding about her party’s backsliding. “I am disappointed, my citizens are disappointed. I did not hide this weekend, I went to the constituency, I spoke to my citizens, my mayors, my prefects. And there, I expect to have several answers to my questions. These questions to the Prime Minister relate to “the basis” of the decision and the “sequence” of the decision-making and its announcement.
“In Portneuf, we also feel the blow. We are disappointed to see the results, ”commented Vincent Caron, MP for this riding.
He stands behind the decision in front of “figures which show that, for the moment, the project must be completely reviewed”. “You know, a billion is 1000 million. It’s worth thinking about all that […] and questioning yourself. »
Chauveau MNA Sylvain Lévesque, who faced Conservative leader Éric Duhaime in the election, used an excuse not to answer questions from the media. “As vice-president of the National Assembly, I cannot compel myself to make comments,” he said while going to the meeting convened by the Prime Minister on the fate of a CAQ promise.
As La Presse reported on Tuesday, Beauce-Nord MP Luc Provençal let the party know that he has COVID-19.
Cybersecurity Minister Éric Caire, who had promised to resign if the project was abandoned, declined to comment upon his arrival at caucus, as did Education Minister Bernard Drainville and Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault. who showed up more than 20 minutes after the others elected to this caucus.