Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault arrives for a Liberal cabinet retreat in Montreal, Sunday, January 21, 2024.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Monday the federal government will stop investing in new road infrastructure — a comment that immediately drew attacks from the Opposition Conservatives and some premiers who said the climate activist turned politician is out of touch.
"We can very well achieve our goals of economic, social and human development without more enlargement of the road network." "What we have said, and maybe I should have been more specific, is that we don't have funds for large projects like the '' that the CAQ has been trying to do for many years," he said of Quebec's provincial government.Conservative MP Mark Strahl, the party's transport critic, said Guilbeault's talk about no more new roads is "outrageous" and an affront to the people who rely on cars to get to and from work.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, a frequent critic of Guilbeault, pounced on the remarks, saying in a social media post that the Montreal cabinet minister doesn't understand that many Canadians live in suburban, rural and remote areas where transit isn't as well-developed. "He doesn't care that you're stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I do. We're building roads and highways, with or without a cent from the feds."The federal government is laying out its final plan to phase out new, gas-powered passenger vehicles by 2035, with gradually increasing targets for manufacturers to meet.