Mr. Speaker, today residents of Trois-Pistoles came to ask the Minister of Transport to put an end to the horror story that has put the 2002 Basques ferry season on hold, due to the federal government's irresponsibility in allowing the wharf to deteriorate over the past five years.
The minister must today announce that the 2002 season will be saved and that the wharves of Trois-Pistoles and les Escoumins will be repaired. Otherwise the minister will have adopted an inexplicably arrogant attitude, and his negligence will have deprived 30 crew members and others who work in the region's tourism industry of their livelihood.
The federal government owns the wharves. The federal government is responsible for the deterioration of the situation. It must provide the service, or else compensate the population and those who have lost their jobs because of the Minister of Transport's inefficiency.