Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank my colleague for raising this most important issue. I know that he never loses touch with reality. It is with great respect that I will address the issue that he has raised on several occasions.
He is fully aware of the privatization process undertaken by several western governments. There was a time when governments, including the federal government, managed nearly everything that had to do with transportation. It was true in air transportation, where the government owned the infrastructure as well as carriers. It was also true in marine and rail transportation. I think that the involvement of local people in the economic development of their region has produced very good results.
The new national maritime operations management policy with regard to the municipality of Lewisporte was officially transferred to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1997 for several hundreds of millions of dollars, I think, for the management of operations.
Unfortunately, these transfers are forcing local authorities to manage operations on their territory very carefully. The time when the Canadian government was responsible for everything that was happening is gone. It trusted the people in the regions enough to let them to assume responsibility for the transportation infrastructure, which is gaining in importance. It is normal for things to be better managed by the local population.
The secretary of state, who answered the first time, and the Minister of Transport are very sensitive to the whole issue, which affects the diversification of regional economies. It is true, I see this in my own area and people see it across the country, our regions, which used to depend on natural resource development, must now turn to new realities involving processing and making the local population more responsible.
The regions will develop if they can, with our support, turn to research and development, to critical infrastructure, with the involvement of the local population. Thus, we will be able to retain our young people, with better support for small business development, among other things, through the use of the most up to date equipment.
Then there is the whole training aspect. Provinces must be helped to assume their responsibilities. In the situation of concern to us here, where some 40 people are going to lose their jobs, it is important for the Canadian government—and I make a commitment to this on behalf of the secretary of state and minister of transport—to act as a partner in the economic diversification of this region, which is absolutely vital.
I am certain that the Canadian government will, as it always has in the past, be successful in acting as a constructive and positive partner in the development of this lovely region, which I have had the opportunity to visit with my colleague. I have visited all of Newfoundland and have had occasion to take the ferry from North Sydney to Port-aux-Basques. These are most extraordinary regions.
They are regions well worth visiting and learning more about. It is particularly worthwhile to be partners in the diversification of their economy. I am certain that the local population realizes that an economy cannot always be focused on one activity. There must be diversification. The Canadian government will play a major role in this community's efforts toward that diversification.