The planned $5.5 billion light-rail project which would link downtown Montreal to Trudeau airport and the south shore is not getting a thumbs-up from Quebec's environmental review board.
On Friday, the Bureau d'Audiences Publiques sur l'Environnement (BAPE) issued its report, saying it has several serious concerns with the project as it stands.
The BAPE says its main objection to the project is the lack of some key documentation on the project — including major elements of the project that were not subject to public debate.
It says it doesn't have enough information on whether agricultural land around where the lines would be built would be protected — nor does it have enough on whether the lines, once they're up and running, will actually compel users to ditch their cars in favor of the new network.
The BAPE is only an advisory group, and its findings are not binding on the Couillard government. Speaking in Davos, Switzerland, premier Philippe Couillard says the intends to move forward with the project.
Work is due to begin by the end of this year, with the first trains set to roll by 2020. Quebec's pension fund manager, the Caisse de Depot, is due to kick in $3 billion for the project, with the federal and provincial governments providing the rest.