I could begin, and then allow my colleagues to talk about the problems in their regions.
In Quebec, the facilities have deteriorated quite substantially. As I said earlier, the average age of the facilities is between 25 and 35 years. The problem is that we are at a stage where a great deal money would have to be invested to bring the facilities up to standard. When there is an inadequate rate of recapitalization—and that is what we were saying in different words—obviously each year there is an accumulated maintenance or recapitalization deficit. It becomes very difficult to get on top of things later. Mr. Hegge said that a substantial amount of money would be involved. This week, Mr. Bergeron talked about a figure of between $400 million and $500 million, taking inflation into account.
At the same time, all the construction costs have increased. In most cases, weather problems have hastened the deterioration, because these facilities are now very old. Our main concern is to make sure that fishers are safe. Every year, engineers inspect the sites. When we are told that a wharf is not safe, we have no choice but to take steps to limit access to it. We always try to minimize the impact of these measures and to offer the fishers temporary solutions. As managers of these facilities, it is always a challenge for us to invest in a project at the right time. Because of a shortage of funding, we are often out of step.