TMCnet News
CAA-Quebec questions the political parties - What would you do to ensure stable financing for our road infrastructures?QUEBEC, Nov. 20, 2008 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) -- In the second of a series of three questions sent by letter to Quebec's main political parties during the current election campaign, CAA-Quebec asks them to clarify their intentions regarding long-term financing of the province's road infrastructures. An independent fund for our roads - One of the main reasons why Quebec's road infrastructures are in such a sorry state is ongoing negligence of their maintenance over the years. Since 2007, however, major investments have been made in our roads. In CAA-Quebec's opinion, it is clear that our road infrastructures must be protected once and for all from the vagaries of changing political administrations by guaranteeing stable, long-term funding. "This objective could be achieved with the creation of a fund dedicated exclusively to preserving and maintaining the road network, and managed by an agency independent of the government," emphasized Sophie Gagnon, CAA-Quebec's Senior Director of Public and Government Relations. "In a March 2007 survey of CAA-Quebec members, 83% of respondents agreed that such a fund should be created. Clearly, past negligence and the sad events of September 2006 had left their marks in the minds of motorists." Lessons of the past - The user-pay principle has existed for years, given that automobile owners pay contributions to the Government of Quebec every year because of their status as motorists: registration and driver's licence fees as well as taxes on fuel - an amount in excess of $2.5 billion this year! In the past, however, a large part of that annual haul - often more than 50% - has been invested by successive governments in projects that have nothing to do with road and bridge work. As a result, investments in our road network have varied greatly from year to year. The era of major projects must continue - CAA-Quebec is a member of the Coalition pour l'entretien et la réfection du réseau routier du Québec (Coalition for the maintenance and rehabilitation of Quebec's road network), which in 2005 estimated that an amount of $2 billion per year, over the next 10 years, would be required to rehabilitate the road network merely to achieve an acceptable threshold of less than 20% obsolescence. There were more than 1,800 roadwork projects in Quebec in 2008, and a record amount of nearly $3.3 billion will have been invested in the provincial network by the end of fiscal year 2008-2009. "This is unprecedented, of course, but a great deal remains to be done to restore health to our road network - and, especially, to restore Quebecers' confidence in their road infrastructures. We trust that the next government will keep this in mind," Ms. Gagnon concluded. The parties' responses to the three questions asked by CAA-Quebec will be available in the News section of http://www.caaquebec.com/Nouvelles/Accueil-Nouvelles.htm?lang=en. CAA-Quebec is a non-profit organization founded in 1904 that provides its 950,000 members with services and privileges in the automotive, travel, residential and financial services sectors. SOURCE: CAA-Québec SOURCE: QUEBEC ELECTIONS 2008 Montreal: Roxanne Héroux, Media Relations Officer, (514) 861-7111, ext. 3210 [email protected]; Quebec City: Philippe St-Pierre, Communications Officer, (418) 624-2424, ext. 2418, [email protected] |