Guilbault is committed to working with Quebec transit agencies on the shortfall

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No money was put on the table at a meeting Monday between Quebec Transport Minister Genevieve Guilbeau and the mayors in charge of transit agencies.

Clearly, the two sides disagree on deficit figures. “In order to find a solution to the financing problems, we need to ensure that we work on the basis of general and hard figures, because we are talking about taxpayers' money here. The minister reiterated this,” said Maxime Roy, Gilbo's communications director.

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But there is money, he assured.

Last week, the Quebec government said it was prepared to absorb the loss of fares (which it calls a cyclical deficit) due to post-pandemic travel cuts, rather than structural deficits.

However, some transit agencies don't have cyclical deficits, only structural ones, so the government now seems open to finding a way to help them, too.

“We've also reiterated that we want to ensure predictability by deciding this fall on the amounts for the next few years after we receive the audit. Elected officials agreed on the need to solve the 2025 deficit by summer. Future meetings will be held in the coming weeks,” Roy said.

On social media X, the Montreal City Council thanked Guilbeau for his openness and said they saw the meeting as “the beginning of a conversation about financing public transit.”

Monday's meeting comes as relations between cities and government are particularly strained.

Two weeks ago, Guilbault sparked outrage by claiming that managing public transport was not the government's mission.

His comments provoked criticism. Quebec Mayor Bruno Marchand said he no longer trusts Guilbeau and has no vision.

Prime Minister François Legault went further than his minister, saying “it was easier for the mayors to beg Quebec than to clean up their spending.”

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