Achi news desk-
Quebec’s Minister of Transport and Mobility, Genevieve Gilbeau, on Thursday tabled her long-awaited bill to create Mobilité Infra Québec, a public transportation development agency.
The minister said she wants to regain control of the sector, adding that the projects are being carried out too slowly, and they cost too much.
Guilbeau says her new agency aims to fix those problems.
It will perform “opportunity analysis, planning and execution of complex transportation projects”.
The legislation states that Mobilité Infra Québec may “acquire, by expropriation, the assets it deems necessary to carry out its mission on behalf of itself or on behalf of the government, a local municipality, a public transport corporation, the Réseau de transport métropolitain (REM) or the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM).”
At the same time, Quebec’s infrastructure minister, Jonathan Julien, submitted a bill to reform the way public contracts are awarded in order to reduce construction costs and construction times.
Under certain conditions, the bill would allow a public body to conclude a contract by mutual agreement after an unsuccessful call for tenders.
— This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 9, 2024.
