Mr. Speaker, I would like to respond in greater detail to the question raised recently by the hon. member for Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel.
First of all, I would remind the member that our government has always made it a duty to defend what it considers the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces. In partnership with the provinces, territories and municipalities, as well as first nations and the private sector, our government has established a number of joint infrastructure programs.
One of the federal government's main priorities is to improve the quality of life of Canadians. We are working to make Canada a world leader in community development. Thus, the measures recently announced by the Minister of Finance should be seen as a historic effort to upgrade our bridges, roads, tunnels and aqueducts and to improve the quality of life in Quebec communities and across the country.
Furthermore, I would like to point out that these new infrastructure measures have been warmly welcomed by Quebec government representatives, and by the mayors of major cities such as Montreal, Laval and Sherbrooke.
The government has come up with an action plan to stimulate the economy, protect Canadians and invest in our long-term growth. We have expanded and stepped up our infrastructure investments by adding nearly $12 billion in economic recovery measures.
Over the next two years, our government will invest $4 billion in an infrastructure stimulus fund to carry out projects with our provincial, territorial and municipal partners, $2 billion to accelerate construction at colleges and universities, $1 billion to create a new, green infrastructure fund, $500 million to support the construction of new community recreational facilities and modernize existing facilities, and $2 billion in low-cost loans to municipalities to invest in sewers, water lines and other renewal projects.
The Canadian people gave us a stronger mandate in the most recent election because of the economic crisis. Canadians expressed confidence in the Conservatives' ability to manage the crisis, and that is exactly what we are doing. All last week, I invited my Bloc Québécois colleagues to demonstrate cooperation and solidarity, values Quebeckers hold dear, in order to implement Canada's economic action plan as quickly as possible. But unfortunately, the Bloc voted against the plan this evening.