Mr. Speaker, on the last day of the session before the holidays, or December 11, 1997, I questioned the Minister responsible for International Trade about what was happening about the guarantee of funding for the Spirit of Columbus platform, which MIL Davie had managed to bring in after several months of efforts.
That platform has been anchored in the port of Quebec since August 30 of last year, but the wait on the guarantee of financing from the Export Development Corporation, which reports to the Minster of International Trade, has been going on for more than a year.
As the minister's response was not very helpful, I am back at it again today to try and get some more details.
The minister said:
I spoke with Mr. Landry some months ago. I directed the EDC to speak with the Quebec SDI. Meetings were held. He had spoken with the MIL-Davie union president.
The federal government feels this is a very important undertaking. I respect the recommendations made by the EDC and the SDI on behalf of the governments of Quebec and of Canada.
We have been waiting ever since. From time to time in this House, every couple of months, I bring it up again. I know this is a complex matter, but we are now at the end of February, and next week the House adjourns. Dominion Bridge, which owns the shipyards, is doing everything it can. It has even got new investments from American ECO, which is currently discussing a take-over of Dominion Bridge, and therefore of the yards.
There are two other platform projects, each costing in excess of $100 million, Amethyst II and Amethyst III, for which applications have been made. The Government of Quebec is prepared to contribute. As long ago as September 20, the SDI had given its agreement in principle for this project. Now that we are talking in excess of $300 million for these platforms, we are still waiting on the federal government and the Export Development Corporation to find out what is going on about the guarantee of financing.
I would like to give a quick review, in a few seconds, of one other Liberal government commitment. In 1993 it had promised a summit on the future of marine construction in Canada. This was picked up on by then New Brunswick Premier McKenna who reminded the government of it at a federal-provincial conference before his resignation.
Now here we are in 1998, 5 years later, and there is no sign whatsoever of a symposium or summit on marine construction in Canada.