Mr. Chair, I'd like to clarify a few things.
According to the legislation, when an infrastructure project is considered to be under federal jurisdiction, provincial legislation, like Quebec's, and municipal bylaws apply, so long as they do not conflict with federal legislation. Major fiascoes can arise, however, as we have seen in Quebec, where city plans and agricultural zoning rules gave way to the creation of airports. We also witnessed that with Canada Post, which did not consult anyone on the installation of community mailboxes. Mayor of Montreal and former Liberal MP Denis Coderre even took a jackhammer to the slab foundation of a community mailbox in protest of the legislation. We should expect the same problems in this case.
As Mr. Campbell confirmed, if the energy east pipeline were to go through the Canada Infrastructure Bank, it is very likely that, under its Environment Quality Act, Quebec would have a say over minor details, but not over the route of the pipeline. Constitutional expert Patrick Taillon confirmed our fears: the bank would be the agent of the government and even wholly private projects going through the bank would be considered government projects.
I therefore beg to differ with Mr. Campbell. His remarks contradict those of Mr. Taillon, a constitutional expert and professor at Université Laval. Mr. Campbell's comments also indirectly conflict with what a public servant told a Radio-Canada journalist yesterday, if we are to believe the article that came out. The public servant confirmed that any investment made through the Canada Infrastructure Bank would be wholly covered by the bank.
I appreciate that Mr. Campbell has to follow government orders. The same thing happened with Bill C-29, in the fall, when we discussed the financial sector's desire to be exempt from Quebec's Consumer Protection Act.
With all due respect, we were ultimately right, Mr. Campbell.