Mr. Speaker, on December 13, 2002, I asked a question in the House to follow up on a question asked the previous day, December 12, about routes 11 and 17 in northeastern New Brunswick.
My question dealt with the fact that the leader of the Liberal Party of New Brunswick had moved a motion in the legislative assembly requiring the federal government to respect the commitment made by the Minister of Labour responsible for New Brunswick regarding routes 11 and 17.
Typically, a question is supposed to be asked during oral question period, which consists of questions and answers. However, question period, clearly, consists mostly of many questions that remain unanswered, as occurred on December 12, when the Minister of Transport gave me the following answer:
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member asked this very same question yesterday and I gave an answer. In case the answer was not clear I would direct his attention to Hansard and perhaps he will be edified.
It was absolutely not the same question. I did look at Hansard , and I could not find the answer, because he did not answer my question.
So tonight, after one month and some weeks, I hope that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, who is responsible for answering my question on behalf of the Minister of Transport, has finally found the answer.
The leader of the Liberal Party of New Brunswick has invited the Legislative Assembly in Fredericton to unanimously ask that Ottawa respect the commitment made by the Minister of Labour. That is clear, and I do not want to check in Hansard . I want an answer from the Liberal government tonight.
Those of us in northeastern New Brunswick believe in the economic development of the region. The government is always accusing us of only talking about employment insurance. Well, when we finally talk about economic development, the government refers us to Hansard in response to a question asked of it the day before, referring to a passage that does not even correspond to the question that was asked.
I would like the government to show some respect at least, tonight, and to answer the following question: does the government agree with the leader of the Liberal Party of New Brunswick, who asked the federal government to keep the minister's $90 million promise regarding highways 11 and 17 in northeastern New Brunswick?