Madam Speaker, as this is the first time I rise in this House, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Beauport-Montmorency-Orléans for electing me on October 25, last year, to represent them in this place.
My question or comment for my hon. colleague from Vancouver Quadra is this: I want to tell him that I really appreciated his speech and that I would have liked him to stress the importance of rail transportation for regional development. My hon. colleague from Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup, who is very devoted to regionalism, strongly emphasized the fact that the regions were getting poorer and poorer and I believe that his province and region are among those which owe their development to a railway stretching A mari usque ad mare, d'un océan à l'autre , from coast to coast.
In their speeches, the Prime Minister and the hon. Minister for External Affairs have indicated how committed they are to this country. It reminded me of a slogan I heard as a fourteen year old during the Centennial campaign in 1967, which said: "Canada Stand Together, Understand Together". At any rate, I hope that the hon. member for Vancouver Quadra will ensure that rail transportation is maintained in the years to come.
I also support the comment the hon. member for Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup made about the need for a high-speed train for the Quebec-Windsor corridor.