The governor of New York State on Tuesday called for launching major infrastructure projects to revive the US economy after the pandemic, and some of them could benefit Quebec.
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“If there is ever a time to tackle this need for major infrastructure works, it is now,” Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference from the New York Stock Exchange, which reopened for the first time since March 23, stressing that he would speak about it on Wednesday during a meeting with President Donald Trump.
“We have to revive the economy, we have to create jobs,” he added.
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Andrew Cuomo notably expressed his intention to accelerate the development of the infrastructure necessary for the transmission of electricity from Canada in order to supply the State with renewable energy.
Prime Minister François Legault and his Minister of International Relations, Nadine Girault, both welcomed the announcement on Twitter, they who still aim to make Quebec the “battery of northeastern North America” .
Last year, the mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, unveiled an ambitious green plan in several parts, which includes the construction of a power line to connect his city to the Hydro-Quebec network.
The supply contract with Hydro-Québec could bring in up to $ 10 billion for the crown corporation over 20 years.
Other projects dear to Governor Cuomo’s eyes include the construction of a rail link between central New York and its airports or the extension of the Q line of the New York subway.
Despite a fiscal shortfall due to the pandemic estimated for New York State at some $ 13 billion, the governor said he would “set an example” by accelerating his own infrastructure program, but wanted to “A partnership” with the federal government.
“I’m going to Washington tomorrow, I have a meeting with the president […] that’s one of the things I discuss with him, ”added Cuomo, referring to big projects, like the great Hoover Dam, launched during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
With the pandemic, which has claimed nearly 100,000 lives in the United States, nearly 40 million Americans are now officially registered as unemployed, and the unemployment rate was close to 15%.
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