Mr. Speaker, the Charlevoix region is waiting for close to $30 million over five years that was promised by Ottawa to help complete a major project: the development of the Massif de la Petite-Rivière-Saint-François by developer Daniel Gauthier. This project has yet to be launched because the Charlevoix region is still waiting for the millions promised.
The project involves upgrading the railway between the Gare du Palais station and Pointe-au-Pic, and includes a 150-room hotel, a multifunctional conference facility and a public market for locally grown products. We cannot allow this project, which has support from the community, to wither away, just because the federal government did not want to sign an agreement in time. Without a signed agreement, the developer cannot start work, since it would no longer be eligible for available grants.
This major project, which would create 600 permanent jobs is crucial to the region's economic development. I am calling on the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec to keep his word. Why is the Conservative government so quick to find money for military equipment and not to help a project that will create jobs and put Charlevoix on the map?