Mr. Speaker, we are already on the record as supporting this measure. In fact, we put it forward in our 2004 election platform.
I think it is a matter of letting public transit users know that the government supports what they are doing.
I am not sure, however, to what extent this measure will have a significant effect on ridership. We would have preferred a refundable tax credit, because public transit users are in large part student who, more often than not, do not pay taxes. It is less of an incentive for them. I brought this up when the minister came to committee.
While people do talk to me about the cost of public transit—lower costs would certainly be welcome—running times, frequency, routes and infrastructure are also of concern to them. Those who do not use public transit often argue that it takes too long, that it is too difficult to use, that there are not sufficient routes and that the schedules are not flexible enough.
Transit authorities should be allowed to provide expanded service in terms of frequency, scheduling, flexibility and routes. This has to happen at the level of transit authorities, which come under the purview of the provinces.
If the government is really serious about resolving these issues, it has to stop choking the provinces and provide them with all they need to deliver these services to their inhabitants.
Fiscal imbalance really has to be dealt with. We will work on it with the government, which we will support if it gives back to Quebec the $3.9 billion requested to correct the fiscal imbalance.