Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to the hon. member, and specifically to his reference to the $2.83 million allocated for harbour cleanup. I want to ask the hon. member if it is his recollection that the $2.83 million was in fact money for municipal-rural infrastructure and that team Saint John had actually put that money together for projects like the YMCA, waterfront development and the Rothesay regional economic development project.
Regarding the $44 million that is needed for construction this summer for harbour cleanup, there is no money in this budget for strategic infrastructure. Have we not taken money out of one fund and put it into another? In other words, have we not robbed one fund and put it into another fund for political expediency? This is not a partisan issue. In 2004 the mayor and council of Saint John came out for the first time with a proposal that all members of this House were involved with at meetings, including the then prime minister.
I would ask the hon. member about the $2.83 million and that money being taken away from other projects in Saint John. How does he square those two funds?