Thank you, Mr. Chair. We bring greetings from the Lower St. Lawrence. It is snowing where you are, and it is raining here.
We want to intervene briefly by stating that the municipalities are important partners for the government, in the economic recovery. The objective of our intervention today is that we would like to see the government take into account the priorities of municipalities, which are local governments.
Since 2008, municipalities everywhere in Canada have contributed to the recovery, particularly through the Building Canada Fund. In Quebec alone, between 2008 and 2014, we contributed over $30 billion that enabled the creation of 220,000 jobs yearly. These people pay taxes and they are consumers. They contribute to Canada's prosperity.
We mostly invested in aqueduct and sewer infrastructure programs. Today, we are not asking for a budgetary envelope, but we are asking that our priorities be respected.
We want to submit to you two examples of projects that would be ready to start tomorrow morning in the context of an agreement with the Building Canada Fund, particularly for small communities or large projects. In Rimouski, there is a project to build two Olympic-size skating rinks, one in keeping with North American standards and another with international standards, as well as two reservoirs, one of 25 metres. This is a $35-million project that is greatly needed by the community. The project was developed in partnership with the University of Quebec in Rimouski. That said, in the context of globalization, and faced with a demographic challenge, we have to offer quality services in order to attract new families to our area who will take over our organizations and businesses.
We will provide a brief overview of the situation. May I introduce Gilles Garon, Mayor of Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac, who also has a project to present that is a key project for his community.