Coolstar
Senior Member
Paywall. Here's what's behind it. Station du REM à l’aéroport Le projet de retour sur les rails (outline.com)
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- Thread starter Ansem
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W. K. Lis
Superstar
TABERNAC. Google Translate doesn't want to translate it.
nfitz
Superstar
If you open the La Presse article, you have 3 free views a month, and that translates. Essentially they are bickering about who is paying the extra money needed for Trudeau station, with $500 million coming from the feds (both through direct funding and the Canadian Infrastructure Bank), and $100 million from the province.
I guess naming rights have some value for the feds.
But who is going to pay for extending it one more stop to Dorval Circle, where there's the existing bus/Exo/Via stations?
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robmausser
Senior Member
(Ottawa) The uncertainty that hangs over the financing of the construction of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) station at Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau International Airport is drawing to a close. Quebec is changing its tune and now says it is ready to contribute to the financial package requested by Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) to carry out this project valued at $ 600 million, La Presse has learned .
Joël-Denis Bellavance
The looming financial package would see the Canada Infrastructure Bank (BIC) advance $ 400 million, while the Trudeau government and the Quebec government would each put $ 100 million on the table, according to our information.
Talks between the two capitals have progressed for a few days to the point where we could soon announce an agreement on the financing of this project considered crucial by the Montreal region, business people, ADM and the Liberals of Justin Trudeau.
Especially since the REM must connect the city center of the metropolis to the airport, allowing Montreal to have an intermodal public transport network worthy of a large North American city, just like Toronto or Vancouver. , among others.
“The file is progressing well. We are in conversation. We are working on solutions, ” a federal government source well aware of the issue, which has caused friction between Quebec and Ottawa in recent months , told La Presse .
Far from postponing this dossier indefinitely, the appointment of the new Minister Omar Alghabra for Transport, who took over from Marc Garneau, transferred to Foreign Affairs in a ministerial reshuffle at the beginning of the year, made it possible to put this project back into action. head of the ministry's list.
At the same time, Quebec ministers from Justin Trudeau's cabinet - the Minister of Economic Development, Mélanie Joly, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, and the Prime Minister's political lieutenant, Pablo Rodriguez, among others - have increased calls and talks with their counterparts in the Legault government in the hope of bringing them back to the negotiating table.
According to our information, Minister Joly has met on several occasions with the Minister of the Economy and Innovation of Quebec, Pierre Fitzgibbon, very favorable to the project and to financial participation from Quebec, while his colleague from Transports , François Bonnardel, affirmed that the project should be financed by Ottawa only because the airport is an infrastructure which belongs to the federal government.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, ARCHIVES THE PRESS Quebec Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel
Mr Bonnardel's office declined to comment on Wednesday. "I have nothing to confirm in this file for the moment", indicated the press secretary of Mr. Bonnardel, Florence Plourde.
"Montreal is home"
According to our information, another piece of the puzzle that would have helped to unblock the talks on this file is the recent arrival of Michael Sabia as Deputy Minister of Finance in Ottawa.
Before becoming the right-hand man of Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in early December, Mr. Sabia headed the Canada Infrastructure Bank for almost 10 months.
And previously, he had been President and Chief Executive Officer for 11 years of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which is the conductor of the REM construction project.
In an interview with La Presse last April, Mr. Sabia said he would be there for the inauguration of the REM, not as president of the Caisse de dépôt, but as a Montrealer. “Montreal is home,” he said, a sign of his commitment to the full realization of this project, including the REM station at the airport.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, ARCHIVES THE CANADIAN PRESS Michael Sabia, Deputy Minister of Finance in Ottawa
Initially, the construction costs of this station were to be borne by ADM, but the organization has seen its revenues drop sharply due to the collapse in air traffic since the start of the pandemic.
ADM pleaded with Ottawa and Quebec to obtain a repayable loan to carry out the work. The Legault government said it was ready to participate in the financial package, but it ended the talks unexpectedly last fall by arguing that the airport is a federal infrastructure and that Ottawa has to foot the bill.
In the absence of an agreement between the two levels of government, ADM recently announced that it may have to put this portion of the project on the ice indefinitely, causing serious concern among Montreal City Hall, business people and elected officials. federal.
ADM has indicated that it wants to wait for the outcome of the discussions in progress before making a decision. “We understand that discussions are underway between Quebec and Ottawa and that the provincial government has shown an openness to return to the negotiating table. However, as discussions are barely resuming, we remain cautious and will reserve our comments for the moment, ”indicated Anne-Sophie Hamel, Director of Corporate Affairs and Media Relations at ADM.
p_xavier
Active Member
The music seems to say, In REMoriam.
turini2
Active Member
And an extension to Dorval is ... DOA?
chronicsurfer
New Member
I was hoping they'd consider that with REM De l'est but the announcement was all quiet on it but talked about further extensions on the south shore.
NoahB
Active Member
Petition launched against elevated train lines in east-end Montreal
The REM expansion will see 23 stations along two routes serving eastern and north-east Montreal by 2029.
montrealgazette.com
p_xavier
Active Member
Premier Legault talks about the third phase of the REM here and the CPDQi is being ambitious with two branches in the South Shore. https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/...sud/la-caisse-tres-interessee-dit-legault.php
Also the Quebec streetcar line's location will now be planned by the government and not the city. There is quite a media war with the premier and the mayor of Quebec City,
Also the Quebec streetcar line's location will now be planned by the government and not the city. There is quite a media war with the premier and the mayor of Quebec City,
sacred
Active Member
Time for a visit to Vancouver.Petition launched against elevated train lines in east-end Montreal
The REM expansion will see 23 stations along two routes serving eastern and north-east Montreal by 2029.
NoahB
Active Member
Prolongement du REM sur la Rive-Sud | La Caisse « très intéressée », dit Legault | La Presse
Edit I see this link was posted haha
SFO-YYZ
Active Member
Nothing new.Petition launched against elevated train lines in east-end Montreal
The REM expansion will see 23 stations along two routes serving eastern and north-east Montreal by 2029.
Since its announcement, there's been at least a dozen local petitions against REM-B's alignments/design. I don't know if this will have any impact on CDPQi's decision making process, as it's an independent investor/builder/operator. Not to mention that this petition is from Quebec Solidaire, and is questionable how much influence they have on the current government (Legault's CAQ could care less if he loses a few more votes to QS as they cater to very different voter groups - CAQ being suburban centre-right where as QS is firmly radical left).
henrydm
New Member
I love transit but a elevated rem downtown is terrible.
p_xavier
Active Member
Great interview with the CPDQi CEO and the reasons why the REM Line B won't be underground downtown. https://translate.google.com/transl...lle/enfouir-le-rem-serait-une-catastrophe.php
sacred
Active Member
Definitely makes sense. I don’t think the elevated structure will be that bad- would be good to have it offset with lots of local greenery. The key, in my mind, is to ensure good transfers both around Gare Centrale and Berri-UQAM. A dedicated interior walkway without a movator is the bare minimum. We can’t have people walking around for 5-10 minutes outside continue their multi-seat journey