Mr. Speaker, the federal government plays politics with its multibillion dollar HRD programs while abandoning essentials such as isolated coastal community docks, the coast guard, national defence and the RCMP.
Department of Transport policy states that the federal government will continue to maintain port facilities for remote and isolated communities. Its actions contradict its words.
The village of Quatsino has been a viable west coast community since the 1880s. Quatsino relies on boat transportation and dock facilities to send children to school and to access health care.
The federal government wants to abandon one end of this marine route by abandoning the dock. Federal bureaucrats have told residents it is their problem because they chose to live there.
When will the government see past its insensitive nose and live up to its own policy commitments?