I'll give you a general explanation of why we are opposed to the motion. Obviously, there is a financial issue, but there is also a jurisdictional issue.
We're talking about a $1 billion fund to which British Columbia will contribute $100 million or $200 million, and to which the federal government will then contribute. Will we also have $1 billion for our watersheds in Quebec, given our wealth of water? To give you an idea, I would point out that all the lakes and rivers in Quebec cover three times the size of France. So water is a great asset in Quebec, although it's affected by pollution problems related to industrialization, of course, but that's another discussion.
Quebec created its national water policy in 2002, under Bernard Landry's government. It was the result of initiatives such as the Legendre commission in 1970, watershed management experiments, the Environmental Conservation Council in 1993, the Water Management Symposium in Quebec in 1997 and the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement report in 1999–2000. Through all of this, the Government of Quebec has placed watershed organizations at the centre of the water governance model. This is squarely in the area of jurisdiction.
The topic of this study, fresh water, is already a bit of a jurisdictional issue. However, Mr. Bachrach's motion is squarely within provincial jurisdiction. Despite Mr. van Koeverden's explanations, I remain opposed to this motion, for the reasons I gave earlier. This is about respect for jurisdictions, which is a crucial and topical issue in this country.
The federal government, through its spending power, is already meddling in everything. It wants its own programs, its own priorities, its own standards, and the provinces take turns giving in to get the money. As a result, the real autonomy of the provinces is shrinking. Mr. Bachrach's motion makes it even smaller. As we know, a number of provinces are expressing the same frustrations as Quebec regarding federal interference at the moment. There was a time when we were the only ones expressing it, but now Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, New Brunswick and Alberta are too.
So, for all these reasons relating to the famous federal spending power, we are going to vote against Mr. Bachrach's motion.