Mr. Speaker, I will certainly not make myself very popular by replying with my usual frankness, but there is, I believe, in our region, a politician who has built his career on the Cacouna-Rimouski highway. I think that it would be a monumental error to invest the whole $80 million in asphalt. In five years, the few companies that laid the asphalt would have benefited financially, and in another five the road would be full of holes again and there would be no money to pay for more asphalt.
I think that it is important to use some of the money-say 25 per cent-to do some resurfacing if necessary, widen the highway in spots, bypass a few towns, do some grading. There is work to be done. But I think that the greater part of the $80 million, around 75 per cent, should most definitely be put in an investment fund for the development of eastern Quebec, to create sustainable jobs. Eastern Quebec needs jobs if people are to stay.
When we have a highway and everyone has gone to Montreal, we will need something more to interest tourists in visiting the Gaspé. And that something is people, development, infrastructure. We need an investment fund if we are to succeed, money that would be loaned to companies and that they would have to pay back.
This would ensure a long term fund that would continue over 20 or 30 years, because those who left would pay us back and we would always have money for job creation in Eastern Quebec.