I am personally in favour of my colleague's motion.
The train goes through three towns in my constituency. So I can assure you that this train is not a local project. At our round table with 13 mayors—one mayor was absent—three NDP members, two Liberal members and one Conservative senator were there. I wish local projects could mobilize so many people. Many of us talked about this project, which has a huge impact on the life of West Islanders, especially in Lachine where the train goes over the highway between the West Island and the downtown core. It also goes through the Saint-Pierre interchange and the Turcot interchange, creating a great deal of traffic from Lachine to the West Island.
In order to avoid traffic, motorists pass through my municipality. A great deal of cars go through, and the roads are deteriorating. That will lead to additional expenses for my municipality, because the infrastructure will have to be redone.
I hear the parliamentary secretary talk about the committee's real work in terms of motions. I am sorry, but I think that my job as a member of Parliament is to come forward with important projects that will serve many hundreds of people.
At the moment, the Train de l'Ouest does 18 trips per day, nine going downtown and nine back to the West Island. We are asking for 60 or so departures each way. We want to see numbers. The Quebec government has already announced this project and it is going to invest $400 million in it. That was the request made to the Government of Canada.
I think it is important to consider all the economic, environmental and social benefits of this project. So, in order to guarantee Montreal's economic competitiveness, the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities asks the Government of Canada to commit to funding the Train de l'Ouest. In any case, when we build a road, we never ask ourselves how much it will cost. If we need a road somewhere, we build it without thinking about the costs. We are talking about public transportation for hundreds and hundreds of people.
I urge the government to listen to us. My colleague the Conservative Senator Larry Smith mentioned this during his campaign to become a member for Lac-Saint-Louis. He said that, if he were elected, the Train de l'Ouest would be a reality. I feel that we should consider what our colleague opposite is saying.
I don't understand why none of the Conservative members seem to want to talk about the project. They have been trying to prevent us from talking about it. I will leave it at that, since we have witnesses to hear from. But I feel that this project is really important for Montreal's West Island. I urge the committee to consider granting this funding. It is an opportunity to create jobs. Some families spend hours in their cars instead of contributing to the economy. So it is important to give this some thought.
I am definitely going to support my colleague's motion.
Thank you.