Mr. Speaker, when I meet people from Jonquière, they tell me that they cannot wait for the next federal election. The outcome will be similar to the result of the provincial byelection that was held in the riding of Jonquière. It will be the same all across Quebec. Quebecers will take charge of themselves and they will take the place that is theirs.
Right now, when the PQ and the BQ criticize the federal government, they always say that it is to blame for everything that happens. Yet, the Canadian government is taking initiatives in our region. These initiatives will benefit the riding of Jonquière and all the ridings in the region, in Quebec and even across the country. In the spring, we will, among other things, build the Canadian centre on aluminum processing technologies.
Instead of doing like the PQ and creating committees that control all the regions of Quebec, we would rather create research laboratories. We will do so in the aluminum sector. We will also do so in the tourism sector, with the Canadian centre for the conservation of boreal biodiversity, formerly known as the Saint-Félicien zoo, which the PQ government was in process of shutting down. This will be done thanks to the Canadian government. We will also promote genome research in our regions, again thanks to the Canadian government.
With regard to the issue of highways, the PQ and the BQ have always said no to the construction of highway 175 between Quebec City and the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region. Only very recently did they agree to go ahead with this project. They got such a scare from the results of the byelection in the riding of Jonquière that they are prepared to agree to anything.
They should at least have the decency to wait until the bill that will create the foundation is drafted and tabled. Then they can express their views. But we will have a tool that will allow us, as representatives of the Canadian government, to make choices jointly with the Quebec government and the other provincial governments, and say “Yes, we think this is an important project”.