Transport committee  As my two colleagues said in their presentation, I have no problem with that providing that property rights are respected. On the contrary, any effort to rehabilitate and protect the biodiversity is good. The Government of Quebec and the other departments consider the Outaouais as being the region with the most biodiversity.

Transport committee  It is a long process. There have been many changes and improvements over the last 20 years. Many work plans have been tabled by the NCC. This bill must be passed. It is a good bill that should improve our relationship even more.

Transport committee  Yes. Is it perfect? No. As I was saying to Mr. Bevington, we have been talking about a better way of distributing the NCC's tax base for years. We also would like our roads to be in better shape, for the services of the RCM police to be paid for us, etc. There is a lot of work left to be done, but let us say that in terms of appreciation, it's better than a passing mark.

Transport committee  I will put on my hat as warden of the RCM des Collines-de-l'Outaouais to tell you that we are in the process of rewriting our master plan, the Regional County Municipality development plan. In this plan, it is clearly established that we hope there will be economic development and job creation in the RCM des Collines-de-l'Outaouais.

Transport committee  Well, for example, for the last five years we've had a program that was created by the municipality, called H20 Chelsea. On the different lakes and rivers in Chelsea, we've had volunteers on weekends testing the water. All of those results have been shared with the NCC for Kingsmere Lake, for Meech Lake, for Gatineau River, and so on and so forth.

Transport committee  The municipality didn't write that letter. The lake association..... We now have a system to control traffic and circulation to make sure that in an emergency, the fire trucks, the ambulance, and the police officers can get to the end of Meech Lake on time.

Transport committee  As I mentioned before to Monsieur Nadeau, it was an issue historically, but not every day. I agree with you. For sure, yes, you can go through Blanchet on most days and not have a problem. The problem stems from several days in the summer. Historically, we had major issues: gridlocks and people parking everywhere on private properties, walking all over the place.

Transport committee  That's what we're doing right now. Since then our police are ticketing much more. One of our employees spends most of the weekends there, redirecting traffic. We've established communication lines between Meech Lake, Blanchet Beach, and O'Brien Beach, so when beaches close down and when the parking lots are full, we stop people from going to the beaches because there's no parking whatsoever.

Transport committee  I didn't see the budget annex to the bill.

Transport committee  I can see you were a mayor before. Yes, we have that discussion with the NCC every day about the state of Notch Road, Mine Road, Meech Lake Road, and Kingsmere Road. Right now the ball is in our court, and we have to pay for all of the refurbishing and the maintenance and not too much improvement, unfortunately.

Transport committee  We've talked about that. The park is really the jewel in the crown of the Outaouais region, at least, and of the national capital as a whole. Yes, it could be better advertised. It could be linked to other key activities in the park, such as the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield train. We have had those discussions, but we'll leave it to the NCC to develop its tourism industry.

Transport committee  I understand your point of view. What is written endures, apparently. It is formal proof that the record stands. I can tell you that, since that time, we have evolved. At that point in time, our municipality's position on the issue was based on better supervision of vehicle traffic.

Transport committee  Not really. It all depends on what will happen to the private properties. But I don't see any.... On the contrary, we have supported this bill since it was written. We've said so to the NCC, we've said so to the government, we've said so to several of you around the table. I think our brief clearly established that we are supportive, with the one exception that my two colleagues have mentioned, that we need to conserve the property rights as they are established.

Transport committee  I will answer that wearing two different hats, if I may. First of all, we were supportive... During the consultations that led to the National Capital Commission's most recent master plan, we said that there would have to be an approach to public transportation in the park. In our opinion, we feel it would be a good idea to develop a strategic plan for the future of the park, to ensure that there be fewer vehicles, with the STO, the Ottawa Commission and the National Capital Commission working together.

Transport committee  We have always agreed that the National Capital Commission's priority is to ensure the biophysical and ecological integrity of Gatineau Park. Furthermore, we have already stated that in written briefs and during meetings with the NCC at all levels, from the working level right up to the level of the CEO.