Mr. Speaker, over the years the federal government has made a number of decisions that have had a negative impact on the economic
development of Quebec. I would remind you, if I may, of the Borden line, which in the early 1960s literally killed the petrochemical industry in east Montreal, and the more recent decision to build Mirabel airport, which did considerable harm to Montreal's air traffic and is currently causing problems the federal government is washing its hands of. Now, once again, the federal government is getting ready to impose a unilateral decision with the potential of disastrous consequences for all of the ports along the St. Lawrence.
My question for the Prime Minister is as follows: Are the federal government's proposals to first of all divide Canada into two main maritime regions, east and west, and then to subdivide the east into three parts-the Atlantic ports, the St. Lawrence ports and the Great Lakes ports-not likely to isolate the St. Lawrence ports and to place them in a delicate situation with respect to the new fee structure the government wishes to implement?