Quebec puts $200M toward transit 

Quebec mayors met with transit minister Geneviève Guilbault on Monday and she offered $200 million to pay 70% of the deficit of the ARTM. The transit authority had asked for twice as much.

CTV reported however that Quebec had made no offer at all.

Tuesday morning, City News also writes: “LaPresse reported Monday that the Quebec government would absorb around 70 per cent of the 2025 deficit providing around $200 million in aid, but Guilbault’s office said Monday afternoon that the official amount will only be decided on in the fall.” CBC has also picked up the $200M story.

While looking for links on this mess, I stumbled over this tweet by Eric Duhaime: “la ministre Geneviève Guilbault s’apprête à refiler la facture de la mauvaise gestion de la société de transport de Montréal à l’ensemble des contribuables québécois.” For some politicians, nothing works better than sneering at Montreal and its needs, although what I’m beginning to despise more than anything is critics like this who deliberately turn a blind eye to the lingering effects of the pandemic so they can blame problems on their political rivals.

Columnists too. Here’s an example from the Journal. Instead of praising Valérie Plante for holding things together through years of difficulty, Danièle Lorain tears her down. Sisterhood? Bof.