Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for giving us an opportunity to comment on the program and on the issues facing Quebec.
Quebec is divided into four main regions. We have a network of 55 core harbours, 27 fishing harbours where there is little or no activity and 32 pleasure craft harbours that we have to divest over the next few years. Our budget for 2007-08 is $8.9 million for the Quebec region. Approximately 93 per cent of the commercial fleet in Quebec uses the Department of Fisheries and Oceans harbours, and approximately 2 per cent of the fleet uses the Transport Canada ports for commercial activities.
We are facing some very significant challenges regarding core harbours in Quebec. The weather and the age of the infrastructure—on average between 25 and 35 years— mean that there has been significant deterioration of our facilities and a very low rate of recapitalization. So we have some rather significant problems, particularly as regards safety.
There is no doubt, in light of our current financial resources, that we are having a very hard time keeping operations safe in all locations. With respect to core harbours, there are problems with investments and coordination, and some of these harbours cannot be closed down. We are having a great deal of difficulty coordinating the closing of non-core harbours because of investment capacity difficulties. So we face many problems, including user dissatisfaction because of safety and accessibility issues in inactive harbours. This is a result of the low rate of recapitalization.
I would like to turn now to another important issue for Quebec—pleasure craft harbours. We have 32 of them to divest. The socio-economic considerations are extremely important. These harbours are located between Quebec City and Montreal and require significant investment. The municipalities, particularly those located between Quebec City and Montreal, are more and more interested in taking over these facilities, but it is very difficult to finalize the agreements because of a lack of funding.
There are 42 harbour authorities in Quebec that are quite viable. We maintain good, harmonious communication with these harbour authorities. Some 500 volunteers work in the fishing harbours in Quebec. Although these volunteers are quite dissatisfied with the level of investment, I can tell you that communication between them and the department is very effective.
That is the situation in Quebec.
Thank you for your attention. I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.