You know, I'm actually pretty proud when I look on balance at all the infrastructure programs under our department. We've been trying to be careful to ensure that all areas benefit. Frankly, if our goal is to create jobs and we were to spend the money all in one part of the country, every contractor would be quickly busy and there would be a line-up, which wouldn't spread the wealth.
If you look at the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, we have not always had the best relationship with the province, but Mr. Williams, the premier, put politics aside. It was the first government we came to an agreement with on how to spend the infrastructure spending. Do you know what? The jobs were created a little bit faster as a result of that.
If you look at the Province of Ontario—and I used to sit in the Ontario legislature in opposition as the critic to the current minister of infrastructure—we put aside politics and worked fairly well together.
If you look at the Province of Manitoba, with the Doer government, and now the Selinger government, I think on balance we work pretty well together.
I think if you look at the Province of Quebec, the Premier of Quebec has made some comments recently in an announcement in Pontiac. I think by and large we have worked fairly well.
We've been able to work...I haven't heard a single complaint at a senior level from any of the provinces or territories. We've managed to work with them well. We've tried to distribute it fairly. Newfoundland and Labrador, despite the fact it didn't elect a single returning member, got its full per capita share, because that's the approach we took.
Is every square inch going to get the same amount? Probably not. But on balance, I think it has been fairly well distributed. If you look around the country and talk to Denise Savoie, the member for Victoria, she pushed hard for a project that I was able to announce only the other day. If you look at Halifax, we announced a new library. If you look at Madame Gagnon-Tremblay in the Province of Quebec, we've been able to work together. We have always ensured that we respect provincial jurisdiction, because that is something that is fundamentally important.
Look at the investments we have made in Sault Ste. Marie. I was in the east side of Vancouver with the member for Vancouver East, making two announcements to help aboriginal Canadians who live in her constituency.
We haven't been perfect, but I think by and large we've been pretty good. It's a bit much to hear someone like Ken Dryden get up and say we are not spending the money fairly, when his riding got the largest amount of infrastructure in the country. I think by and large it has been fairly well distributed. I'm pretty proud of that.
I think Canadians, in this unprecedented economic downturn, don't just expect, they demand, that their elected representatives work together, and we have seen an unprecedented amount of that. Frankly, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has been incredibly complimentary about the officials within my department for the excellent job they've done. They have worked their butts off with their team to make these decisions.
I couldn't ask for a stronger team at the federal level. We couldn't ask for better cooperation with provinces and territories. Every single one of them of any political party have put aside petty politics, and I think that speaks well of all of them. Frankly, when people see different parties working together, they're really pleased.