Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to be here today to talk about this bridge. In fact, I had an opportunity to visit the riding of Lévis—Bellechasse with one of the Conservative MPs from the Quebec region, who worked very hard and diligently on this particular file for some years.
Indeed, I am pleased to rise today to tell Quebeckers and Canadians that this bridge is safe. It has been inspected recently. I want to make sure that the fear-mongering of the NDP is not brought into play with Canadians across the country, especially with regard to this particular bridge.
This motion, which proposes that the federal government acquire the Quebec bridge, is an interesting one. I understand that the member opposite and some other members of his caucus are interested in that. As a result of legal wranglings that are taking place right now, initiated by this government I might add, to bring closure to this file, I cannot comment completely on it and give too much information. Obviously it would not be appropriate as a result of the legal proceedings.
I will begin my comments by stating that members on this side of the House, especially the hard-working members of the Conservative caucus who live in Quebec, recognize the importance of the Quebec bridge as both a historic symbol and a vital transportation link that connects the communities in that area. As the longest cantilever bridge in the world, the Quebec bridge is a symbol of the knowhow and tenacity of Quebeckers and Canadians.
It has indeed been jointly declared as a historical monument by the Canadian and American societies of civil engineers. That is no small feat in itself. In 1996, it was also designated as a national historic site. The Quebec bridge provides a very vital link between the south and north shores of the Quebec City region.
It plays an important economic and social function in the daily lives of many people residing in the area. In fact, every single day, an average of 31,000 vehicles travel over the three-lane roadway and as many as 10 rail trains cross over its single rail line.
As the issue is before the courts, I have to limit my comments. However, I would like to provide some information with respect to CN's obligation as the owner of the bridge.
The federal government finished building the Quebec bridge in 1918. At that time, the bridge formed part of Canadian Government Railways. In 1923, the federal government conferred the management and operation of all Canadian government railway lands, including the Quebec bridge, to Canadian National, a new federal crown corporation at that time.
For all intents and purposes, CN has been responsible for the management and operation of the bridge for the past 85 years. In the 1980s and 1990s, the federal government began to implement a commercialization and divestiture policy with regard to transportation services. All Canadians recognize that and recognize that for the most part, it has been highly successful.
Accordingly, in 1993, Transport Canada entered into an agreement with Canadian National whereby the federal government committed to transfer title to CN of all Canadian government railway lands for $1. That is right. Across this great country of ours, all Canadian government railway lands were transferred to CN for $1.
In return, CN assumed responsibility for several properties, including the Quebec bridge, and committed to implement a major bridge maintenance program that would restore the bridge and ensure its long-term viability for the people of Quebec and all Canadians. In accordance with this particular agreement, the transfer of ownership of the Quebec bridge to CN was completed in November 1995, immediately prior to CN becoming a fully privatized and publicly traded company.
To be clear, with this transfer, CN became the owner of the Quebec bridge with full responsibility for its operation, maintenance and restoration. If one can imagine the amount of lands that CN received, CN was well compensated for assuming this ownership and responsibility, as it had received very valuable property assets in 1993 in exchange for this commitment.
Despite generously compensating CN to assume responsibility to restore the Quebec bridge, the Government of Canada did even more to help CN live up to its obligation. In 1997 the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec agreed to assist CN in meeting its responsibilities in respect of the bridge by contributing toward a 10 year, $60 million restoration program for this particular property.
This 1997 agreement ended in 2006, but some of the infrastructure work was simply not completed, as the member opposite brought attention to. As I said, many of the members of the Conservative caucus who live in Quebec have brought it to my attention and to the minister's attention many times. We have been trying to work toward some sort of settlement of this.
Let us be clear. This is CN's obligation. About 60% of the bridge surface has not yet been painted, but it is CN's obligation. We believe that CN has an obligation to finish this work. It committed to do the work, and the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec provided financial assistance to help undertake the work.
The Government of Canada has made numerous attempts to work with CN to ensure the restoration of the bridge, but currently to no avail. Our government continues to be heavily engaged in this matter in order to protect the interests of Canadian taxpayers and of Quebec taxpayers.
All across the country people recognize that we are in a time of global economic crisis, which the gentleman on the other side mentioned. It is true that we have the obligation to protect Canadian taxpayers' dollars and to make sure that those people who are responsible for certain contracts fulfill the terms of those contracts.
CN has a contractual obligation to complete the restoration work on the bridge. This government, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, took action to ensure those obligations were met and will be met.
In February 2007 the Attorney General of Canada filed a motion with the Superior Court of Quebec requesting, among other things, that CN be ordered to complete the restoration of the bridge. This judicial proceeding is well under way. It is aimed at bringing about completion of the restoration work on the Quebec bridge. Quite frankly, it would be inappropriate to further comment on that particular aspect.
In conclusion, the federal government seriously recognizes the importance of maintaining the Quebec bridge in good safe and working condition as it is today. Our government has taken several steps to help CN fulfill its obligations, to ensure that it restores the bridge. The government has made numerous efforts to negotiate a deal to see the restoration work completed.
While we are talking about important infrastructure investments, I would also like to take this opportunity to remind the member and all members of the House about the significant infrastructure investments across the province of Quebec and in the Quebec City region. They are very important investments which go straight to the quality of life of Quebeckers and all Canadians.
For example, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister for La Francophonie, who is also responsible for the Quebec City area, announced last August an investment of $4.5 million for the Université Laval in the riding of Louis Hébert for the improvement of its football stadium in preparation for the Vanier Cup, which was held on that campus last weekend, a great event indeed.
Because of this investment made under Canada's economic action plan, Université Laval will be able to host this important national sports event again in 2010. This again will benefit the people of Quebec City and all Canadians, and the quality of life of Quebeckers especially, having regard to how important this is for them.
Our government also recently announced over $7 million for the Monique Corriveau library, which is also located in the riding of the member opposite, who spoke just before me.
These investments will help stimulate the economy and ensure that all Canadians, all Quebeckers will benefit from strong, modern, world-class public infrastructure.
As with all files of the government, we are calling to action the people responsible for this, and we will continue to do so.