QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities
Quebec City-Lévis Tunnel
April 25, 2023
Mr. LeBlanc, you are the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities and therefore Quebec City’s third link project concerns you directly.
The Government of Quebec has just announced that it is abandoning the idea of a road link in favour of a tunnel for public transit only. We still know little about this project: We don’t know the route, the mode of transportation, the volume of traffic or the cost estimates. To be frank, we don’t even know if Coalition avenir Québec is going to move forward on this.
I know it is impossible for you to say whether the federal government will finance this hypothetical project, but could you indicate what criteria will be used by your government? Specifically, how will the issue of social licence be evaluated?
Thank you for the question, senator. I appreciate your description of the various versions of a project that has existed only theoretically for several years now. There’s no doubt that the Quebec government’s recently announced decision to move towards a project that is limited to public transit offers potential opportunities for federal funding that would not be so readily available if it were a provincial highway extension.
As you said, no specific project has been presented. The environmental impact needs to be studied. This is a megaproject from a financial standpoint. My colleagues from Quebec City often talk about this in caucus and in cabinet, in the case of Mr. Duclos.
We will wait and see whether a project is ultimately presented, and we will ensure, as you correctly pointed out, that social licence is assessed, both at the municipal level and at the provincial level.
However, I must point out that our collaboration with the Quebec government on these types of projects is very encouraging, whether it is the Quebec City tramway or the pink metro line in Montreal. There has been a great deal of collaboration and a lot of discussion about priorities.
