Achi news desk-
Transportation Minister Genevieve Gilbeau convened a virtual meeting of the mayors responsible for the public transportation companies for Monday afternoon.
Guilbo will offer to pay part of the transit companies’ deficits. In the Montreal area the shortfall is estimated at 561 million dollars.
Two weeks ago Guilbo caused a stir when she said that managing public transport is not the province’s task.
The CAQ government has since said it is prepared to absorb some of the “short-term” deficits resulting from the drop in passenger numbers since the COVID-19 pandemic. But it will not pay for “structural” deficits.
The mayors are trying to find a solution to the large deficits affecting transit companies. They are considering several scenarios, including service cuts.
Monday’s meeting comes at a particularly tense time regarding relations with the government.
Prime Minister François Lego recently said of mayors that “it’s always easier to beg Quebec City than… to clean up their expenses.”
“Our government has been there from the beginning. However, to find solutions, (…) we have to work on a strict basis,” Guilbeau’s office said on Monday.
“The logic we have applied since the epidemic is to make up some of the rate losses due to the decrease in the number of passengers in public transportation. This is still our guiding principle,” it said.
