Valérie Plante put cost overruns at the City of Montreal into perspective on Tuesday, arguing that many large public and private projects are currently experiencing such problems.
The Île-aux-Tourtes bridge, the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel and the REM all far exceeded their budget, assured the mayor of Montreal.
“We have to be able to contextualize things correctly,” Ms. Plante said before the municipal council. “We know that the Quebec government and […] the private sector are also talking about cost increases. »
La Presse published an article on Tuesday morning on repeated cost overruns in major municipal projects. For the ozonation plant, Bellechasse garage, city hall and compost plant projects, the overruns exceed a billion dollars.
“These are major projects which are absolutely necessary to achieve our objectives as a city and society,” argued the mayor, adding that she wanted to convince Quebec to grant her more powers to reduce the risks of overruns. “I will continue to look to the future and seek out more capacity to control costs. »
Valérie Plante was questioned by the Leader of the Opposition, Aref Salem.
“Inflation may hurt everyone’s wallet these days, but it cannot justify cost overruns of more than a billion,” he attacked. “This administration should stop pretending to be budding architects and stop reviewing all projects to insert their whims into thinking that Montrealers are ATMs. Montrealers’ money has value, but above all it has a limit. »
