First of all, thank you very much for being here today. It is greatly appreciated. Mr. Stoffer was mentioning earlier on that he was happy to see so many mayors at the same time. I can tell you that every time I come here to make an announcement on behalf of the government, there are always this many mayors. There is a great deal of participation. People in these parts are very proud of their region, and rightly so, because wherever you go in Canada, the Gaspé Peninsula is mentioned regularly.
Mr. Minville, I would first of all like to congratulate you on your presentation. It was very professional, and it could serve as a model not only here in the Gaspé, but anywhere in Canada. You said that harbours are part of our culture, of our heritage. It is important to showcase that heritage.
My colleagues said earlier on, as did Mr. Scantland, that many men and women are involved. Mr. Cannon has just announced $33 billion in funding for various Building Canada projects, projects somewhat like yours. We want to showcase these things. There are $33 billion and we are waiting to tie that to the Province of Quebec so that you will soon be able to participate in the program. There's also $10 million for divestiture of wharves. This amount increased from $1.5 million to $11.5 million. We are aware of this and sensitive to it. You know that you need this. This budget is almost 11 times more than what it used to be. There was a 30% increase in funding for wharf repairs, that is to say an increase that is 10 times that of the cost of living.
We therefore have that sensitivity. I will not point to the previous government, but there has been a certain negligence. Budgets for wharf maintenance were reduced, and what we are seeing here today is somewhat the result of that.
Can we fix the situation immediately and catch up on 10 years of cutbacks? I do not think so. We increased the budgets, things have been done...