Transport Committee on March 7th, 2023

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Côté, I understand that you cannot speak for the Quebec government. That said, what did your exchanges with the province of Quebec lead to? What does the province of Quebec want? As mayor, you must have discussions with the Government of Quebec. What are your discussions about? What are your demands? What has Quebec said?

[Daniel Côté]

We have frequent discussions with the Quebec government, yes.

The Quebec government is always willing to help us and support the municipal and intercity transportation community, but we want both levels of government to work together according to their respective jurisdictions.

Today, we are addressing the federal government, but we have also asked the Quebec government for help. In fact, the Quebec government has told us that it would like to contribute.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Have innovative transportation policies been implemented at the municipal level, in Quebec? If so, can you tell us more about them?

[Daniel Côté]

Mr. Roy, can you help me answer this question?

[Samuel Roy, Policy Coordinator, Union des municipalités du Québec]

Yes, of course.

In all regions of Quebec, various regional county municipalities or intermunicipal boards have put forward certain initiatives, which have made it possible to maintain services to the population.

As some stakeholders mentioned earlier, if we want to achieve the objective of maintaining the offer of services, we must most of the time be able to count on financial assistance from the municipal and provincial environments.

There are initiatives and people in the municipal sector are creative, but there are also challenges in terms of the resources needed to maintain an effective service offer for the benefit of the population in all regions of Quebec.

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Roy.

Mr. Côté, I invite you to share with us the initiatives that have been presented to you by Quebec. The problem is always related to resources, to the financial aspect. On our side, if we could have an idea of how the province will react, that would orient and guide us. If you have any other recommendations, you can send them to the clerk and we'll be happy to look at them.

Mr. Maheux, it's a pleasure to see you in person; thank you for coming all the way here.

What is your long-term success strategy given the long downward trend in coach ridership?

[Pierre Maheux]

Our strategy is relatively simple. In fact, the Abitibi to Montreal route was profitable and busy enough to subsidize our other regional routes, five of which, as Mr. Roberts mentioned, are rather unprofitable. However, the decline in ridership on our main line means that we are left with a money-losing network, which we could not operate without government assistance.

I'd like to quickly return to the question you asked just before. The Quebec government has done something special: it has put in place an assistance program that I think does not exist in other provinces. When a municipality agrees to support a private carrier and maintain a service, for every dollar it invests, three dollars are invested through the Programme d'aide au développement du transport collectif. Despite this, some municipalities do not have enough funds. However, many routes, in our region in particular, have been supported by...

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Maheux, but unfortunately I am running out of time.

Could you send your proposals to us by addressing them to the clerk? You have mentioned some of them, but we have not had the opportunity to hear them all. You can give us some guidance, since you are in the field and are currently experiencing these difficulties. So your recommendations would be very valuable to us.

In particular, you could specify what type of financial assistance would be beneficial to you and what it could do for you.

[Pierre Maheux]

Thank you. I will most certainly forward them to you.

I would just like to raise an important point. Does anyone here in the committee or in the room know where the bus terminal is in Ottawa?

It no longer exists since the Greyhound operator got into financial trouble, as we did, and discontinued service across Canada, including in your riding of Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Mr. Chair. Your bus service is therefore no longer offered.

Intercity services in Canada are ailing, the proof being that there is no longer a bus terminal in Ottawa, where a real estate developer is developing the site of the old terminal. There are four or five carriers serving Ottawa. There is our new service that covers Montreal, Laval, Gatineau and Ottawa, if I may say so. There are also Keolis Canada buses, which run on Highway 417, and Ontario Northland buses, which come in from Sudbury and North Bay.

However, where do these buses stop to unload passengers loaded with luggage? They have to stop on street corners, in snow banks. The fact that Canada's capital doesn't have a bus terminal really does not make sense.

I think the solution involves public transit companies, which should provide access to platforms and services using the subsidies they receive from municipalities, the provincial government and the federal government.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Maheux and Mr. Iacono.

On behalf of the committee, I thank all the witnesses for taking the time to participate in today's meeting, both in person and virtually.

I'll ask all of the witnesses who are joining us now to please log off as we move into committee business.

With that, this meeting is suspended for two minutes.

[Proceedings continue in camera]