Madam Speaker, I would like to remind something to our colleague from the other side, the member for Honoré-Mercier. He mentioned earlier that BDCs had invested money in 2002-03. As far as I know, BDCs were merged with CFCs in 1995 to create CFDCs.
In that sense, CFDCs, as well as CFCs at the time, are comprised of people from the community who make decisions about development in the community. Today, the Economic Development Agency that is proposed to us would eliminate all these types of intervention from people in the community. It would be the nanny state, the federal government, that would make decisions about regional development, as it would see fit.
Consequently, I ask the member for Honoré-Mercier what purpose would an economic agency serve for Quebec. There already is the Canada Economic Development which simply needs openness in its programs to help regions develop, without having to encroach upon provincial jurisdictions.