Mr. Speaker, thanks to the hon. member of the Conservative Party from Sherbrooke who wrote to the auditor general, the death valley diversion in Nova Scotia became a national issue.
In turn, the auditor general is very critical of the government for diverting $26 million from a federal-provincial agreement for work on a dangerous stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway to a tourist trail in the riding of the minister of public works.
The auditor general noted in his report that "the agreement assigns a duty of project review and approval but in this case, such a review was pre-empted by ministers who presented the matter as a fait accompli to officials who, in the circumstances, could only implement the decision".
Although they were forced to reverse their decision in August, upgrades to death valley will still be paid for by toll fees.
The public works minister, agreeing with the leader of the third party, once said the province was showing real leadership by making people pay user fees for their highways. The people of Nova Scotia and my party certainly do not feel that way.