The position we defend is the one agreed to by all of the partners of the Bureau des partenaires-Pont Champlain. This group is comprised of elected representatives from the South Shore of Montreal, as well as representatives of the Government of Quebec. We are talking about replacing a bridge. As you will have noted over the past few days, one lane of the Champlain Bridge is closed. The new bridge will only come on stream in eight years. Currently, one out of two trips over this bridge is done using public transit. We feel it is essential that the new bridge have a light rail transit system. We think that the federal government must contribute to the funding of the LRT.
Up till now, Minister Lebel has not said that he would agree to the Government of Quebec's request for a contribution from the “merit-based fund”. This fund contains $4 billion and the Government of Quebec is asking for $1 billion to fund this new infrastructure. Up to 100,000 people a day use the bridge. As you know, traffic congestion has a major impact on the economy of the greater metropolitan area. I am convinced that the LRT would reduce traffic congestion, but in order for this to happen, the federal government must contribute to this project which is crucial for our region, whether we are talking about the South Shore or Montreal.