Montreal mayor looks to province for more public transit funding

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante isn’t satisfied with the Quebec government’s latest offer to help the province’s public transit agencies recover from the pandemic.

Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault came under fire at the National Assembly Wednesday, after it was revealed her latest offer to public transit agencies would see the province foot about 20 per cent of the agencies’ projected $2.5-billion deficit over five years.

Guilbault maintains this is only the province’s initial offer and she is willing to negotiate.

“I am waiting for their second proposition and we’re going to keep on talking,” Guilbault told reporters Wednesday. “I’m sure we’re going to have an agreement at the end.”

Plante said Montreal’s public transit agency has already done everything in its power to optimize its budget without cutting necessary services. While the STM managed to save about $18 million by doing this last year, she says it won’t be enough to keep services running.

“The last thing we want is for this to affect public transport — the offer,” Plante said of the provincial deal.  “People that use public transport are all types of people,  including people with lower income.”

Plante said the initial offer of 20 per cent was “low,” but she has hope the province will be receptive at the negotiating table and come back with more.

“The first offers … what was on the table was quite far from what we originally, traditionally, received as funding from the government,” Plante said.

In a statement to Global News, Quebec City’s public transit authority, the RTC, says it’s concerned over the province’s offer.

“Like other public transit authorities, we’ve already made major optimization efforts since the pandemic, and we want to avoid cuts to our services,” the RTC writes.

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard says the province and the federal government worked together to invest a combined $2 billion in aid for Quebec public transit authorities during the pandemic.

“It’s probably the sector that we’ve helped the most since the pandemic,” said Girard.

But with the federal government no longer offering emergency assistance, Girard says the onus now falls on both the province and municipalities.

“This is obviously creating a situation where Quebec and the public transit authorities have to do more.”

All three official opposition parties voiced their concern over the situation Wednesday. They’re calling on the province to cover more than 20 per cent.