The Member of Parliament for Vaudreuil, Marie-Claude Nichols, was today refused permission to study two petitions from the region in parliamentary committee.

These petitions, on the integration of the REM on the new Île-aux-Tourtes bridge and on the importance of prevention for a healthy population, concern crucial issues for the population of Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

The REM on the new Île-aux-Tourtes bridge

Faced with daily traffic problems in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the petitioners asked the Quebec government to integrate the REM into the new Île-aux-Tourtes bridge, with a station to the west, at the new Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional Hospital. A request that MNA Nichols had already made to the government.

This Thursday, at the National Assembly, the MNA asked the CAQ government to study this petition, something she was refused.

"More than 87,000 vehicles are stuck in traffic every day because there is no public transit option linking the region to Montreal. Things aren't going to get any better with the new hospital. It seems to me that by 2023, the question should no longer arise. All new major road infrastructure projects should include an option for public transit. The CAQ's refusal to listen shows its lack of sensitivity not only to the environment, but also to local residents whose lives are affected every day by time lost in traffic," declared MNA Nichols.

Prevention, the key to a healthy population

College students have introduced and signed a petition calling on the government to substantially increase the sums invested in prevention in order to ensure the sustainability of the public health system and create a sustainable Quebec health model.

This request, motivated in particular by the aging population and the sedentary lifestyle of young people, did not catch the interest of the Caquist government, which refused to listen to the arguments of our young people and thus to study this petition.

For the MP for Vaudreuil, "this refusal is disappointing, since prevention remains the key to a healthy population. Our regional players have many ideas for getting our young people and seniors moving, but they lack the resources to put them into practice.  I wish the government would at least agree to look into the matter," she asserts.

These two petitions were presented to the National Assembly last June by the MNA. Today, in parliamentary committee, she exercised her right to ask for a follow-up, which was refused by the Caquist majority.