Mr. Speaker, there is a minor misunderstanding. I never said that I was against the return of the gas tax. In my speech, I specifically said that, unfortunately, that was not enough.
Let us look at an actual example. Perhaps the municipalities and mayors in his riding see things differently. I will talk about a real example in my riding of Sainte-Rose-du-Nord, a small village of 500 people.
With the return of the gas tax for four years—it is supposed to be in effect for four years—my riding will receive $500,000 from the federal government to cover all the basic needs of a small municipality. I have already mentioned waterworks, roads and waste water treatment.
Unfortunately, Sainte-Rose-du-Nord is one of the municipalities that discharges its waste water into the fjord. A waste water treatment plant in Sainte-Rose would cost $5 million. Can someone explain to me how a small municipality, even with each party providing one third of funding, can afford a $5 million waste water treatment plant with $500,000 over four years? It cannot be done.
I have just shown that the member opposite is wrong.