Public infrastructure: a looming crisis

Québec is slowly but surely sliding into a public infrastructure crisis. Across the province, signs of deterioration are multiplying: aging hospital buildings, schools reaching the end of their useful life, leaky water systems, and crumbling roads. The widespread aging of these infrastructures—combined with decades of neglect—is now leading to astronomical maintenance costs and raising serious concerns about the government’s ability to preserve its essential assets.

For years, successive governments have preferred to reform, rebuild, and reinvent. Rather than managing what already exists with discipline, they often chose to launch new projects or revamp administrative structures, allowing public buildings and equipment to fall into disrepair. In the healthcare sector, this approach has now reached its limits. In several regions, including Montréal, some hospitals are in such a state of disrepair that the quality of care is being directly affected. The gap is widening between modern hospitals and older facilities, undermining the principle of equitable access to healthcare throughout Québec.

What makes the situation even more alarming is the province’s worsening fiscal health. Québec’s recent credit rating downgrade will inevitably increase borrowing costs, making it even more difficult to finance the maintenance of public assets. A vicious cycle is emerging: the more investments are delayed, the more infrastructure deteriorates, the costlier repairs become, and the harder it gets to meet urgent needs.

It may be time for a shift in philosophy. Instead of launching costly structural reforms or megaprojects, the government should refocus its priorities on the spaces essential to daily life: hospitals visited by thousands of patients each day, schools where our children learn, and drinking water systems that sustain our communities. This isn’t about abandoning ambition, but about embracing discipline and realism. Maintaining public infrastructure is a core responsibility of the state. Too long relegated to the background, this duty must now take center stage in our public policy.

Between trying to reinvent the wheel and simply taking good care of what we already have, a choice must be made. Québec can no longer afford to put off what is essential.

The image used in this article was generated by artificial intelligence