West Island municipalities asked to stay mum on light-rail planning

For the next while at least, mum’s the word for West Island mayors and councillors when the topic of conversation turns to the light-rail network that will one day serve the western part of the island.

That’s because municipal councils have been asked to sign a confidentiality agreement with CDPQ Infra Inc. — the company overseeing the $5.5-billion Réseau électrique métropolitain (REM).

The 67-km system will have 24 stations, seven of them serving the core of the West Island, with Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue being the end of the line. The system will connect the West Island with the airport, downtown, Deux-Montagnes and the South Shore.

Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue resident Michel Belleau voiced his concern about the confidentiality agreement at the town’s council meeting on Sept. 12, saying the move would remove all semblance of transparency from what is a very pricey project.

Brossard councillor Doreen Assaad told the media that she wouldn’t sign the agreement because it would muzzle her if she wanted to offer public criticisms of the project as it moved forward.

But so far, there have been no revolts within West Island municipal councils on the subject of signing the confidentiality agreement.

In April, the Caisse de dépôt announced it would move ahead with the light rail project. It will contribute $3 billion. Work will not begin without funding from both provincial and federal governments.

Ste-Anne Mayor Paola Hawa told the Montreal Gazette that the confidentiality agreement was “a wise move.”

“It helps make the procurement process fair,” she said. “If all the information was out there now, it would be a free-for-all and prices would be driven up artificially.”

Each West Island municipality wants its community best served by the project. Clarity is crucial. Pointe-Claire, for example, recently hired a consulting firm to help with a stringent analysis of the REM project in preparation for the municipality’s presentation of a brief to the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) on Sept. 28.

CDPQ Infra communications director Jean-Vincent Lacroix said it is common to put confidentiality agreements in place for a project of this magnitude. He said that releas- ing information during the project’s preliminary planning stage could have a negative impact on the cost of procurements and the bidding process.

“We are, however, committed to releasing information when the planning of the project is at a more advanced stage,” Lacroix said.

The BAPE is holding a public consultation on the REM on Sept. 26. Individuals or citizens’ groups may present briefs at this hearing, but a copy of the brief must be submitted to the BAPE in advance. The deadline to submit a brief is Sept. 22 at noon.

For details about the public consultation, visit http://www.bape.gouv.qc.ca/sections/mandats/Reseau_electrique_m%C3%A9tropolitain/index.htm.

If all the information was out there now, it would be a free-for-all.