Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. It gives me the opportunity to pursue my line of thought and show the arbitrariness and illogic of the decision or proposal, because we hope it is still a proposal, to locate the centre in Shawinigan rather than in Trois-Rivières. It is a matter of good common sense. It is clear. Trois-Rivières is the regional capital of the Mauricie region; this is a fact.
Certainly, if we undermine its character like this, take the stuffing out of the regional capital, maybe we will no longer have one. Shawinigan may not be a desirable choice, because it is not as well situated.
We have to bear in mind that this decision is not only arbitrary, it is political. It has all the earmarks, at least according to our information. We can see that the Prime Minister is looking after his own political interest to show he is working for his constituents, while leaving far behind the collective interest of the Mauricie region.
There are two types of people. The people of Shawinigan, and they have a lot of good common sense, are very aware of the outlandishness of the situation. They are also increasingly uncomfortable, like the federalists in Trois-Rivières, who are well aware that, in logical terms, the decision is untenable, because, historically, economic activity has been focussed in Trois-Rivières primarily. They know a major centre has to be maintained. Everyone knows that the decision, with its obvious political overtones, is untenable.
I reiterate the three options open to the government. It could maintain the status quo, keeping Trois-Rivières as the main centre of activity for the entire region; it could set up a centre in Shawinigan to satisfy the Prime Minister's fancy while retaining Trois-Rivière's regional nature, incorporating Bécancour; or it could implement its plan, which should not be done, especially as regards Shawinigan becoming the regional capital. Shawinigan lacks the attributes of a regional capital-although the people there are very nice-but it lacks a pool of employers and of people and claimants, who do benefit arbitrarily although highly politically, at the expense of individuals, employers, seniors and community organizations. We will never agree with a decision that means we have to go all the way to Shawinigan.