MOVEMENT MONTREAL LAUNCHING A GREEN REVOLUTION:
FREE TRANSIT FOR MONTREALERS 25 YEARS OLD AND UNDER

Montreal, Quebec – On Wednesday, June 2, 2021, Movement Montreal - Team Balarama Holness, announced its first substantive policy: a commitment to offer free public transportation to all Montrealers 25 years old and under. “We are here today to announce the most ambitious sustainable mobility policy that Montreal has ever seen. A policy that will serve both the environmental and economic interests of Montreal’s youth and future generations.”

In developing its sustainable mobility policy, Movement Montreal consulted with both economic and environmental experts across fields and sectors to ensure its viability, including its mandate to collaborate with the provincial government to use The Electrification and Climate Change Fund (ECCF) as one of the finance sources for public transportation subsidies. Aligned with the ECCF’s aim to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the impacts of climate change, and “electrify the economy”, Movement Montreal’s sustainable mobility plan will ensure that the city grows its economy with environmentally conscious policies.
By drawing on the ECCF and other funding sources, including the federal Public Transit Fund’s newly announced $14.9 billion for public transit investments, the City of Montreal’s Fuel Tax, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund, Movement Montreal’s plan, although ambitious, is fiscally responsible.

“It will cost roughly $267.5 million/year to support this project. We have the funding sources to make that happen. Without raising taxes. Without burdening Montrealers. Without going into debt. That is the power of collaboration.” To further justify the project’s cost and feasibility, Balarama Holness also outlined the existing relationship between the city and the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM), which, with the support of the provincial government, has already set aside funding to reduce public transit fares for seniors and offer free travel for children under 12.

Movement Montreal’s sustainable mobility plan is built on three core principles that, Holness commented, apply universally to all of his political decision-making: 1) economic viability; 2) environmental justice; and 3) fiscal responsibility. “Our policies are based on shared values: equity, affordability, and mobility. They are rooted in justice to ensure that the needs of all Montrealers are reflected in the way the city runs.” In making these claims, Holness drew a clear line between his party and the Valérie Plante and Denis Coderre campaigns, both of which have failed to take an equitable approach to environmental policy implementation. 

According to Holness, this approach also reflects the type of decision-making needed to contribute to Montreal’s social cohesion and balanced spatial development, while creating and providing the conditions for sustainable mobility. “In offering free transit to people 25 years old and under, we are incentivizing them to use public resources, to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and travel across the island to experience Montreal’s diverse cultural and social landscapes. This accomplishes all of our goals: prioritizing Montrealers, valuing our environment, and contributing to the economic regrowth of our city.”

Holness introduced Movement Montreal’s first candidate, Idil Issa, a prominent writer and community organizer, running in the Peter-McGill district. As the candidate responsible for Movement Montreal’s environmental transition and transportation policy, Issa noted that the sustainable mobility plan is just one aspect of a larger, multi-pronged approach to environmental sustainability and economic regrowth in Montreal. “In the upcoming weeks, we will unveil our full environmental platform, which will not only address territorial disparities and the development of green spaces across Montreal’s boroughs, but will also outline greater municipal investment in “green” innovation.”