The request of the opponents of the tramway before the court

Me Guy Bertrand presented Tuesday morning the request of opponents of the tramway project at the Quebec City courthouse.

The office of lawyer Guy Bertrand, which represents opponents of the tramway project, will negotiate with Quebec City prosecutors to find common ground by Friday.

Superior Court Judge Nicole Tremblay asked them to target work that could be suspended until the fall. This is when the interlocutory injunction to end the project will be heard.

Tuesday morning, the parties chose to drop the stage of the interim injunction to expedite the legal process.

They will return to court on Friday to set the hearing dates scheduled for the fall. At that time, the arguments will be presented to the court and witnesses may be heard.

Initially, the provisional motion requested the suspension of works and expropriations. Now, it is only the irreversible work that could be suspended according to the agreement reached between the parties.

“What is important is to protect the irreparable. This is how it will be negotiated. »

— Dorys Chabot, member of the Quebec Citizen Group deserves better

Out-of-court negotiations on this delicate point were to have begun on Tuesday afternoon.

We have meetings planned […] to precisely look at all the details of the work that is coming up with the deadlines, because currently, we do not have this information, underlines Me Dominique Bertrand.< /p>

Accompanied by about twenty citizens, the lawyer Guy Bertrand was before the judge to challenge the tramway project.

Lawyer Guy Bertrand said he was satisfied with the turn of events and happy with the openness of the City prosecutors. However, if there was disagreement on the work to be suspended, new proceedings could be initiated.

Judge Tremblay stressed the importance of speeding up the process since both parties expect a quick response from the court: the City does not want to delay the project and the plaintiffs want the work to be suspended as soon as possible.

It considers that it is urgent to hear the merits of the request quickly, especially with regard to the felling of trees and the expropriations that the project requires.

In the interest of justice and for the sake of independence, the Superior Court chose to put the file in the hands of a judge from outside Quebec City. Judge Nicole Tremblay is from the judicial district of Saguenay.

City lawyers did not want to comment on the case when they left court.