I believe that the Government of Canada should also be a good citizen. The municipalities of Gaspé have been investing enormous amounts of money in quality of life and enhancement of the region for a number of years now. We are well aware that the wharves are not receiving those same levels of investment from the federal government. Everyone here is well aware that the wharves are outdated, both ecologically and visually. Their poor condition is a risk for local residents, to the point that some municipalities are thinking of declaring them hazardous.
Is that what we need to do to make the government respond and invest more money?
Mr. Manning, you said earlier that the main issue was money. However, I do not believe that the government has put in the needed effort since its finances have been on sounder footing. It has let things go. As some people said earlier, the wharves are part of us, in a way. They are important to our communities. If the government wants to preserve them and ensure that the dynamic around them continues, if it wants to preserve that aspect, that relationship we have with the river and the estuary, it will have to invest funds. The current investment is not enough for Canada as a whole, particularly in our region. I hope that the outcome of your meetings will make it possible for the government to allocate more funding, because we know what it costs to repair the wharves.
Earlier, Mr. Mamelonet touched on the issue of discussions among a number of federal government departments. We know there is a problem there, because we have experienced it and heard about it on occasion. Fisheries and Oceans Canada as well as Transport Canada are involved with the wharves, and frequently do not speak to each other. That causes problems that are extremely difficult to solve whenever we want to move significant projects forward, like the Grande-Vallée project before you today, for instance. I don't know whether both parties are involved in that wharf, but there are areas where they are both involved, and it is difficult to have them sit down together and work on a wharf development project.
Obviously, I hope that these meetings result in a greater awareness of our problems on your part. We know—it is quite simple—that the main issue is money. We are well aware of that. But I believe the federal government now has a chance of having that money. We will not go before the courts, but we know all the spending that goes on within government, and we understand that some priorities might have to be shifted in order to promote wharf development in Canada, particularly in our area.
Thank you.