Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Saint-Jean for his very relevant question and some of his comments. There are others I will have to correct.
I am answering the question of the hon. member for Saint-Jean on the funding of highway 35, in Quebec.
In Canada, except for national park highways, highways are under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, including the Trans-Canada Highway and highways that are part of the national highway system. However, let me assure you that the Government of Canada is concerned with the state and safety of the national highway system, as well as with its ability to deal with the increased traffic volume.
It is for these very reasons that, for the last 80 years, the Canadian government has funded several shared cost projects for the provincial-territorial highway system. Since 1993, Transport Canada a contributed over $1.6 billion to highway projects in Canada and $220 million in Quebec.
In the February 2000 budget, the federal government announced an investment of $2.65 billion in the infrastructure program, including $600 million into the strategic highway infrastructure program.
Transport Canada is responsible for this program, which allocated $500 million for highways, $70 million for border crossings and $30 million to set up smart transportation systems. Quebec's share of the highway funding is $108.5 million.
There are ongoing discussions with Quebec to reach an agreement on the road projects that will be funded with Quebec's $108.5 million. Highway 35 is part of the national highway system and is therefore eligible for funding under this program. Unfortunately, Quebec has yet to sign the highway program agreement.
I also want to say that on July 2, 2002, the Minister of Transport signed a $29.5 million agreement with Quebec to repair highway 15 and the Lacolle border crossing with border infrastructure funds from the strategic highway infrastructure program.
Furthermore, on August 9, 2002, the Minister of Industry and minister responsible for infrastructure made public the parameters of the Canadian strategic infrastructure fund for $2 billion and $600 million for the border infrastructure fund announced in the 2001 budget. These moneys will help fund the major infrastructure projects with the provinces, territories, municipalities and the private sector.
In closing, I want to say that, on August 22, 2002, the Prime Minister of Canada and the Premier of Quebec announced funding of $525 million to widen higway 175 between Quebec City and the Saguenay to four lanes. As I said previously, highway 35 is part of the national highway system and is therefore eligible for funding under these two new programs.
The Minister of Transport is closely collaborating with his colleague, the Minister of Infrastructure, and with Quebec to identify other transportation projects eligible for funding under these two infrastructure programs.