Calls mount to put Montreal's LRT project under greater scrutiny

When an independent review of Montreal's expensive light-rail project questioned its transparence and viability earlier this week, the mayor and premier shruggedoff the concerns, insisting the project would go forward regardless.

But now the Official Opposition atcity hall is calling on the federal government to subject the project to greater scrutiny before committing funding.

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"We want to put in place the best transit network for Montreal, and to do that we have to take into account the recommendations that seek to improve the project," the leader of Projet Montral, Valrie Plante, saidin a letter sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeauand obtained by CBC News.

The party was joined in its call for greater scrutiny by a coalition of community and environmental organizations, which wants the National Assembly to hold a commission to examine the impact of the project on taxpayers and the environment.

"It doesn't take into consideration the real needs of urbanism for the city of Montreal," said Jean Fortier, a former member of Montreal's executive committeeand a spokesperson for theTrainsparencecoalition.

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Project lacks transparence, BAPE says

Last week, Quebec'senvironmental review agency known by its French acronym,BAPE issued a 300-pagereportthat called several aspects of the light-rail project into question.

As it stands, Quebec's pension fund manager,Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubec, has promised to bankroll a majority of the costs for a67-kilometre light-rail transit system(LRT).

The Caissesubsidiary leading the project,CDPQ Infra, has unveiled plans for a LRT network that would include 27 stationsconnecting the South Shore, the West Island andTrudeau airport to downtown Montreal.

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CDPQInfra has committed to providing $3 billion in funding. The balance, $2.9 billion, is expected to come from Ottawa and Quebec City.

But the details behind thesefinancial arrangements, such as profit and risk-sharing mechanism, are clouded in secrecy, according to the BAPE report.

The report also questions whether other, cheaper, alternatives to Montreal's transit needs have been thoroughly studied.

It questions, too, the impact the current proposed route will have on environmentally sensitive areas and notes complaints from residents about their inability to provide input.

Bape not infallible:Coderre

The BAPE report received a detailed rebuke fromCDPQInfra, and its importance downplayed by Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and Premier Philippe Couillard.

Coderre was particularly dismissive ofthe report. At a news conference on Friday, he said "The BAPEis not the pope" (the phrase rhymes in French: "Le BAPE, ce n'est pas le pape").

"It will be on budget, on time. That's settled," the mayor added.

Couillard expressed similar sentiments, suggesting the BAPE's concerns didn't merit reviewingthe project.

"Let's be very clear, [the LRT] is going to be going forward as planned," he said alongside Coderre on Friday. "It is an essential project for Quebec, Montreal of course, and Canada."

That attitude was singled out by Plante in her letter to Trudeau. She told the prime minister that Coderre and Couillard"preferredto attack the report's credibility rather than take its criticisms into account."

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