Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to use the time remaining in the debate on this motion, pursuant to our Standing Orders.
I would like to correct something my hon. colleague from Kootenay West-Revelstoke, who sits with me on the Standing Committee on Transport, said in his remarks.
He indicated earlier, in summarizing the motion to some extent, that the usefulness of such a motion is unclear, since Bill C-101 will do what the hon. member is asking for. I think he should have read the motion and listened to what was being said. He would have realized that the motion in question is to ensure-not in a distant future; Bill C-101 has not yet been passed-that railways lines recently slated for abandonment will be covered by the provisions contained in Bill C-101, once passed. Again, my colleague from Kootenay misconstrued my meaning.
Also, the hon. member of the Reform Party complained again about his party not having become the official opposition yet. I would like to inform the Reformers, through you, that if the Bloc Quebecois is the official opposition, it is neither to please the Liberal Party, nor to annoy the Reform Party. British parliamentary tradition has it that the largest minority group in the House of Commons forms the official opposition. We never asked to be the official opposition. It is just the way it is and shall continue to be, since we have decided to continue sitting in this Parliament to unmask the Liberals.
A common thread goes through the whole federal transportation reform: the government intends to shift infrastructure costs onto municipalities, RCMs or the Quebec government, while at the same time maintaining control and keeping corresponding revenues. In fact, these so-called improved management objectives hide a sucker's deal.
The defence of Quebec's interests is no longer tied exclusively to fruitless objections or demonstration too often ignored. It is now predicated on Quebecers taking the transportation issue into their own hands to ensure their future and the future of Quebec businesses and regions whose development depends on transportation.
Only by becoming sovereign will we be able to put in place an integrated transportation policy, in which our local and public sector partners will be the first to gain from a unified transportation role within Quebec, combined with a partnership with our Canadian neighbours and NAFTA allies.
We, members of the Bloc Quebecois, the official opposition, will keep on repeating this as long as it takes in this House.