Mr. Speaker, in the absence of my colleague, the Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, allow me to respond in greater detail to the question raised recently by the hon. member for Hull—Aylmer.
The member expressed his concerns regarding the financial support provided to the regions of Quebec by the Economic Development Agency of Canada. As the hon. member knows, the Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec is a staunch defender of the regions. He has a well-known reputation for this.
Since becoming minister, he has put forward six new economic measures aimed specifically at helping the various regions of Quebec, and especially those that are struggling. Those measures include: the venture capital fund for business start-ups in the regions; the capital fund for business succession; the community economic diversification initiative—vitality; community economic facilities for the regions; partnering with enterprises for commercialization; and advisory committees.
Canada Economic Development's mission is focused on regional economic development and supporting businesses—our SMEs. The department assists Quebec SMEs directly by providing counselling services and financial assistance. It also encourages regional business communities and the organizations that support them. Other federal partners participate in this mission to varying degrees.
Had the member done his homework and taken the time to read our government's latest budget, he would have found, on page 200, that we plan to provide a total of $105 million to seven centres of excellence that focus on priority areas of research and commercialization for Canada, including the National Optics Institute in Quebec City.
Examples of how our government has been helping the regions of Quebec abound. I could list a whole range of them, but that would only serve to emphasize how unfounded the member for Hull—Aylmer's allegations are. We are helping the regions in many different ways.
Since coming to power, our government has made a historic effort to revitalize infrastructure and improve quality of life in various Canadian communities.
The 2007 budget allocated unprecedented amounts of money in this area, and the regions of Quebec are among the first to benefit. We are talking about $16 billion in new money for a total of $33 billion over the next seven years.
Our government is determined to apply policies that will promote economic growth and new business opportunities in all regions of Quebec. Resolving the softwood lumber crisis is a concrete example of that.
That was also what motivated our government to create Advantage Canada, a strategic plan to improve our country's prosperity, which depends on the prosperity of our regions. It also motivated our Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada to launch new economic measures for the regions of Quebec.
I would conclude by saying that we are confident that the measures the minister has announced over the past few months and the changes to the department's financial assistance programs will make a real difference in the very near future.