Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the federal government will stop investing in new road infrastructure — a comment that immediately drew the ire of the Opposition Conservatives and some premiers who said the climate activist turned politician is out of touch.

Guilbeault said Tuesday the government will be there to support provinces paying for maintenance but Ottawa has decided that the existing road infrastructure “is perfectly adequate to respond to the needs we have.”

“There will be no more envelopes from the federal government to enlarge the road network,” Guilbeault said, according to quotes published in the Montreal Gazette.

“We can very well achieve our goals of economic, social and human development without more enlargement of the road network.”

Guilbeault said the federal government is intent on moving people out of their cars and into public transportation, which the government has spent billions to build.

The federal government also wants to encourage “active transportation,” which means getting people to walk and cycle.

  • Funderpants @lemmy.caOP
    301·
    9 months ago

    This is something I support for many reasons. Firstly, they don’t help reduce congestion over the long run. The fundamental law of congestion, which has been supported by evidence over and over for more than 50 years, says:

    people drive more when the stock of roads in their city increases; commercial driving and trucking increase with a city’s stock of roads; and people migrate to cities that are relatively well provided with roads

    Changes to transport infrastructure like investing in bus systems, subways do much more to relieve congestion anyway. Everyone benefits from improved air quality.

    Do I need to mention climate change?

    We only have so much money to invest, I say we put it into the most effective areas.

  • Value Subtracted@startrek.website
    111·
    9 months ago

    This is already being walked back:

    “Of course we’re funding roads,” Guilbeault said. “We have programs to fund roads, but we have said — and maybe I should have been more specific in the past — is that we don’t have funds for large projects like the Troisième lien that the CAQ has been trying to do for for many years.”

    • Funderpants @lemmy.caOP
      16·
      9 months ago

      I think it’s more a clarification than a walk back. They aren’t going to grow the road system, but road maintenance and safety upgrades were never on the chopping block.

      Basically no more “one more lane bro”

      • baconisaveg@lemmy.ca
        2·
        9 months ago

        That’s exactly what I took from reading the original article. You’d have to want to see something else in order to see it some other way, or be an incompetent reader.

    • girlfreddy@lemmy.ca
      21·
      9 months ago

      The Liberals are managing to wiffle-waffle themselves into a political butchering.

      • zaphod@lemmy.caEnglish
        51·
        9 months ago

        Less waffling and more shitty comms, which unfortunately has been a consistent problem with this government for years, particularly for files where Guilbeault is minister. That guy shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a microphone…

  • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
    6·
    9 months ago

    The federal government also wants to encourage “active transportation,” which means getting people to walk and cycle.

    Don’t just encourage it.

    Feds need to incentivize people and invest in programs to support it. Bypass Premiers who oppose, and directly fund municipalities who want to build out their active transportation networks.