Mr. Speaker, the minister had a few good words about the opposition regarding our work on the committee. I must say that the current Minister of Transport is always very kind and courteous.
The fact remains, however, that some situations can be quite dire. As you know, I represent the riding of Lévis. It saddens me to see a shipyard that once employed up to 3,000 workers, a prosperous industry, the leading shipyard in Quebec, stop building ships because of a decline in shipping. This decline is the result of policies that discourage shipbuilding, the building of a Canadian fleet of merchant ships.
I know this also concerns the Minister of Industry, but why was the promise made in the red book not kept? A Canadian shipbuilding summit was to take place in the first year following the election of the Liberal Party. Why did it not take place?
Why does the government not draw inspiration from American policy, the Jones Act for instance, regarding shipping? Why not follow the same policies as those of other countries, particularly Scandinavian countries, on this subject? Why has the Liberal government not done more for shipbuilding? To this day, it has done nothing.