Mr. Chairman, I know my colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord and his sense of humour well. But had he caught the first minutes of my remarks, had he listened carefully, he would have realized that I was extremely positive about the Coast Guard.
I will say the same thing to my hon. colleague from Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Pabok. What I am asking is for the Coast Guard to be provided with the means to act, to become a real institution and stop being mistreated. That is clear. That is what I am asking for.
Let it be a real institution, capable of providing services, and not a tool to collect taxes, as has been the case in recent years, since 1998. That is not its role. Its role is to provide services.
Let us stop relying on the Coast Guard to collect fees in an effort to make up for shortfalls in budgets. Let us give it what it needs to provide services to the public. Otherwise, what is the point of creating an institution and not being able to support it? It is pointless. The Coast Guard needs to be supported. It seems clear to me.