Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak on behalf of the Bloc Quebecois to Bill C-34, which is intended to govern the transportation of grain, particularly in the west.
Right off, for the benefit of those watching, I will point out that our party, the Bloc Quebecois, will vote against this bill at third reading. We will do so for on simple reason, a matter of equity, or perhaps I should say a matter of inequity.
I would not want the members from out west to assume that this is another chapter in the unending dispute between eastern and western Canada. On the contrary. It is our view that the government has once again decided, using this bill, to pit the east against the west.
If this bill is passed, western producers will enjoy a considerable reduction in the cost of transportation, on the order of $178 million. This reduction will be achieved in the form of discounts that the two railway companies—Canadian National and Canadian Pacific—will be required to give western producers.
On behalf of my party, I say that this is unfair to eastern producers. When I say eastern producers, I am talking about producers from Quebec, but also those from Ontario.
The Liberal majority across the way often tells the members of the Bloc Quebecois, the Canadian Alliance or the Progressive Conservative Party that they are regional parties.
I would remind our Liberal friends opposite that we might ask ourselves whether the same is not true of them. We know that there are 155 Liberal members—