Madam Speaker, I would like to ask one question dealing with the hon. member's concerns he expressed at length about the CN rail line from Montreal to Halifax.
I do not know if the hon. member heard my speech this morning when I talked about my concerns. The people of Halifax came to the committee first on Bill C-89, the CN privatization and later on Bill C-101, the new Canada Transportation Act. They asked, begged and implored the committee and Parliament to offer some guarantee of continuance for a period of time for the reasons the member stated, so that the line would not disappear before the post-Panamax traffic was in place.
They wanted assurance for investors that they could invest in the newly privatized or commercialized Halifax port which does not get government support for these loans. I have no problem with that and they did not either, but they said to at least give them the tools to develop their financial self-sustaining characteristics. This is something which will not take traffic away from interior ports such as Montreal or the lakehead because post-Panamax freighters cannot and will not go up the St. Lawrence. They either go to Halifax or they go to the United States. Those are the two choices.
I talked to the president of CN Rail. I asked him if it would be a hardship for him if this was put in. His response was that it would not be.
What the hon. member should know is that the Bloc Quebecois has a private member's motion coming up on April 19 or thereabouts, because CN is not living up to its responsibilities to repair and rebuild the bridge which links the north shore to the south shore. If CN does not do that, if it is allowed to let it run down to the point where it is no longer practical to run it, that rail line will be gone.
We proposed in Bill C-89 on behalf of the member's people in Halifax that there be a 10 year continuance. That is what they asked for. The Liberals shot it down.
They asked for it again when Bill C-101 was in committee. They said: "We have cut our plea to the minimum. We can live with five years. We would like to have 10, but we can live with five. Please give us the five years we need". I reiterate, it is at no cost to anyone. It is not a cost to the internal ports of Canada. It will not take business away from them. It is not a cost to CN Rail. The president of CN Rail said it would not be a problem. I introduced this as Motion No. 38 which was voted down by the Liberal government.
The hon. member said that he would rise after the fact and speak on behalf of Halifax. It is too late. He either speaks now or
whatever benefit this may have brought Halifax will be gone. No matter what he says, it will be gone. He should know that one backbencher rising in Parliament after the fact will not make a difference. He should have been there when we were trying to put this through for Atlantic Canada.
Is the hon. member categorically stating that the Liberal government made a mistake in not passing Motion No. 38 which would have allowed that five years of continuance at no cost to anyone? Is he prepared to stand in the House today to say that he supports the motion now, even though it has already been defeated, against the position of the Liberal government which has turned its back on Atlantic Canada?