Mr. Speaker, at the dawn of a new federal budget, I invite the Minister of Finance to respond to the appeal launched by his Quebec counterpart, Pauline Marois, in her November 1 budget, which involves investing new money in Quebec infrastructures in order to stimulate the economy and create jobs.
Since September 11 an economic downturn has hit and many workers have unfortunately lost their jobs. According to the president of the Coalition pour le renouvellement des infrastructures au Québec, Gilles Vaillancourt, every billion dollars spent on infrastructure creates 12,500 jobs. This is a solution the Minister of Finance might consider seriously in his next budget.
I would remind him that in October he indicated an openness to the idea of a 50:50 cost sharing arrangement with Quebec to expand the parc des Laurentides highway into four lanes.
Expectations are high in the Saguenay. The great money man would be making a mistake if he did not invest the amounts so long awaited. After all, a promise is a promise.