Mr. Speaker, the federal government is always prepared to co-operate with any province, including Quebec, on any issue in which we have common interests.
In the case in point, the Federal Office of Regional Development already has 13 offices in Quebec; they have been there for over 20 years. No new office is being established. These offices already exist. What the minister responsible for the FORDQ did announce was the provision of an additional service to small- and medium-sized businesses, to improve operations through centralization of information on federal programs in existing offices of the FORDQ.