I am going to continue, Mr. Chair.
A dollar invested in public transit has an economic impact that is three times greater than in private automobile transport. One of the main obstacles to economic development is the very high cost of traffic congestion; the Department of Transport assesses this cost at close to $3 billion. It is time to take the necessary steps to reverse this trend that is harmful to our economy.
Which brings me to the Champlain Bridge. You all know to what extent this bridge is crucial for the Montreal region. Every day, 160,000 cars and more than 17,000 trucks cross it to go to Montreal or the South Shore. It is the busiest bridge in Canada. It is one of the important components of the continental trade gateway. Every year, 20 billion dollars' worth of goods exchanged between Canada and the United States cross that bridge, and that represents 7% of Quebec's GDP. In addition, 20,000 people use the dedicated bus lane during rush hours. Every morning, more public transit users than drivers cross the bridge.
This dedicated lane, which was commissioned in 1978 and was supposed to be temporary, reached full capacity several years ago. A needs assessment showed clearly that something must be done in the downtown/A10 corridor to deal with the current public transit issues.
After an analysis of the various preliminary options, light rail transit was shown to be the best one. LRT provides quick, safe, accessible and reliable service, and makes it possible to increase public transit use. It also blends perfectly into the urban environment and makes it possible to provide service to a vast clientele, while reducing greenhouse gases.
That is why the Government of Quebec chose LRT for the new Champlain Bridge. It announced the creation of a project office and entrusted the responsibility for bringing this project to fruition to the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT). There is a consensus on this project in the greater Montreal metropolitan area. Both municipal representatives and the partners of the Champlain Bridge subscribe to the positions of the Government of Quebec regarding the replacement of the Champlain Bridge. This support focuses particularly on the choice of LRT for the future bridge, and the hope that the work will be supported by federal funds; there is also a concern with regard to tolls and the repercussions they could have on mobility in the Montreal region.
For this project to become a reality, we are missing an essential partner: the federal government. It must contribute financially to the realization of the project. We are counting on the new Building Canada program, in particular on the so-called “merit-based” fund, which has a $4-billion envelope.
Last week, the Government of Quebec released its position and its intention to ask for its fair share of this fund, i.e. $1 billion. It confirmed that this subsidy would be entirely allocated to LRT on the new Champlain Bridge. The new bridge will have the necessary infrastructure to host the LRT, which will link the South Shore to downtown Montreal and most certainly contribute to the prosperity and safety of the greater Montreal region and of Quebec as a whole.
We thus have two recommendations to make to the committee. First, in light of the construction of the new Champlain Bridge, the federal government must work in close cooperation with the Government of Quebec to plan the realization of this new bridge, taking into account the implementation of a light rail transit system.
Secondly, the federal government must commit to funding its part of the LRT through the “merit-based” fund of the Building Canada program, by contributing $1 billion. This bridge is very important for the economy of Quebec and the greater metropolitan area. We hope that the federal government will be a partner in this project and that it will subscribe to the consensus of the greater metropolitan area.
Thank you.