Under the Economic Action Plan which you refer to, and which was announced approximately one year ago, my colleagues are able to deal directly with municipalities, school boards or other such entities; however, because of Bill M-30 which is in force in Quebec, the federal government and municipalities cannot work directly together. This is the only province where that is the case.
I am sure you understand, Mr. Bouchard, that under the circumstances, we had to meet with our Quebec colleagues. When the time came to implement the program now known as CAF-Forestry, we worked hand-in-hand with the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife. Under RInC, the Recreational Infrastructure Canada program, we collaborated with the two ministries with responsibility in that area, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sport, in terms of the school boards.
As to whether there is a connection between the funding that was provided and what I might call politically selected ridings, I can tell you that, in our case, we are not responsible for implementing the program. You are well acquainted with infrastructure programs in Quebec. The same logic applied to those negotiations. We basically just used the exact same agreements that were in place and adapted them to our needs. However, Quebec is overseeing the program and is therefore responsible for project selection. As long as they are consistent with the program framework… What we look at is compliance. It must be identical to what is required under the Infrastructure Canada Program.