Champlain Bridge: don’t make Montreal families pay

Conservatives succumb to NDP pressure but new toll wrong for Montreal families.

OTTAWA – Today, the Conservatives succumbed to NDP pressure and announced the construction of a new Champlain Bridge. However, NDP Leader Nycole Turmel barely had a chance to celebrate before the government announced that Montreal families will bear the costs every time they use the new toll bridge.

The NDP has been calling for a new bridge since Parliament resumed and had launched an Internet and social media campaign to send a message to Stephen Harper. Thousands visited the web site and hundreds added messages demanding a new bridge.

But after letting Montrealers sweat it out for the whole summer, the Conservatives now want to make families pay the bill for the new bridge.

“This is the wrong plan for Montreal and South Shore families,” declared NDP leader, Nycole Turmel. The Champlain Bridge is a major economic artery in Canada and the government wants Montreal families to pay for it all,” she added.

“The current bridge is open to everyone and the new one should be as well. Despite what the government thinks, it’s not up to Montreal families to bear the cost of the new bridge each time they use it. Montreal is an island. Everyone should be able to come and go, not just those who can afford it,” adds Turmel.