Mr. Speaker, those who worked in regional development planning know that municipalities are not the only bodies involved. Quebec has RCMs, regional county municipalities, which bring together many municipalities and set regional priorities.
These groups or CRDCs, which also work on joint action, all bring together people from a county or a region; here we are talking about a county as a political unit but there are also regional units with their own particularities. These people meet and set policies which they apply with the funds received. For example, if we in Abitibi want to promote tourism with the funds received, we can use those funds for economic development, but if the decisions are made in Montreal or Ottawa and they say that tourism is no longer a priority that they encourage, we do not qualify for funds.
That is really how we can develop our regions, not by waiting for directions to come from the provincial level in Montreal or the national level in Ottawa. I think that the debate should be on this issue. We must know if each region can take charge; it is not a matter of knowing how much it will get. The amount can always be negotiated, but how it will be negotiated is the most important point.