CUPE Quebec Conseil provincial du secteur du transport terrestre (CPSTT) welcomes the investment of new funds in public transit, however it points out that if funds had been obtained when they were made available, back in 2024, much more could have been accomplished and at a lower cost. Today’s funding announcement represents Quebec’s share from the Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF).
“We are experiencing historic levels of inflation, especially in construction! Why did the CAQ government take two years to negotiate this funding? We are the only province excluded from the new federal program. We are certainly happy to see this investment in public transit, but there are many problems with the way the money will be spent, mainly because there is nothing for the maintenance and repair of infrastructure, and nothing to wipe out the deficits of transit providers,” said Fanny Demontigny, secretary-general of CUPE Québec.
In fact, these funds will only finance new construction projects, like the Québec City tramway, and the lengthening of the Métro blue line in Montréal.
“There’s nothing for operations and no supplementary budget to absorb past deficits or foreseeable deficits over the next two years. This situation is causing transit service cuts across networks. That is not the way to convince motorists to stop using their cars,” concluded Katherine Bouclin, CPSTT president.
