Bruno Marchand happily welcomed a “clear” court decision and a “win across the board” in the lawsuit brought by tram opponents against Quebec City.
• Also read: Process: The anti-tram rejected in court, the project can continue
This is how the mayor of Quebec reacted late Tuesday morning to Judge Clément Samson’s decision, who confirmed that the streetcar project is not illegal.
“With such a clear verdict, it is time to move on. We can move forward as a community, he added. Let’s no longer question this project. Let’s build the sequel together.”
When asked whether the streetcar opposition group should forgo the appeal, Mayor Marchand was cautious, saying that decision was up to them.
In his view, priority should now be given to the project and in particular to the “Federal Treasury”, from which the city intends to benefit in the coming weeks. The streetcar project could benefit from certain federal programs, which have a deadline of March 31.
The mayor did not quantify the cost of the lawsuit for the city, even if he spoke of thousands of hours of work. He argued that the lawsuit did not cause a delay in completing the project.
Other reactions
Claude Villeneuve, leader of the opposition at Quebec City Hall, who was asked to respond, said he was happy with the verdict. “It looks as we expected. We can be the tram. We can oppose it. But it’s not an illegal project. I never thought that the tram could be vulnerable to this action,” he said.
On the Équipe Priorité Québec (EPQ) side, chief Patrick Paquet admitted his disappointment when Judge Samson confirmed there was nothing illegal about not holding a referendum on the tram.
However, Mr Paquet says it is “completely wrong” to suggest that Mayor Marchand now has the legitimacy to proceed with the tram. “You must attach the financial plan,” he insisted. If the percentage (of the payment) of Quebec City citizens goes down to 15, 16 or 17%, I think we have to go back to the population and renew the legitimacy.
For her part, Jackie Smith, head of Transition Quebec, described the verdict as positive. “I’m happy to hear that the judge decided not to block the tram project,” she said.
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