Mr. Speaker, in response to a question I put to the Minister of Finance, the Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec) replied.
My question was as follows:
—the Minister of Finance has no more credibility when he claims to want to respect the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces. The proof is in his latest budget. He is going to invite private contractors directly to build recreational facilities in municipalities.
How can the Minister of Finance still claim to respect the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces when, with this measure, he will not only be going over Quebec's head, but over the heads of the municipalities? So much for respecting jurisdictions.
On page 146 in the English text, the economic action plan talks about recreational infrastructure in Canada.
Budget 2009 provides $500 million over two years—
Thus, if we take Quebec's percentage of 22%, that would mean about $110 million for Quebec.
—to support construction of new community recreational facilities and upgrades to existing facilities across Canada. Eligible facilities include recreational facilities owned by municipalities, First Nations, counties,—
These are called RCMs in Quebec.
—community organizations and other not-for-profit entities.
These are facilities that belong to municipalities, first nations, counties, and not-for-profit entities.
The initiative will support...50 per cent of the total cost of eligible projects, with the balance to be provided by provincial and municipal governments, community organizations, and the private sector.
This is the first mention of the private sector under the infrastructure heading; it is not mentioned in the previous paragraph, which discusses the owners of these facilities. The private sector is mentioned in the part of the paragraph that states that the other 50% will have to be paid for by provincial and municipal governments, community organizations and the private sector.
The section of the budget on Recreational Infrastructure Canada reads, in part, “—recreational facilities...including hockey arenas, soccer fields, tennis and basketball courts, and swimming pools. Many of these facilities were built in 1967...and are now in need of upgrading and renewal”.
Basically, what the government is saying on page 146 is that the private sector can now cover 50% of the cost, and that is the subject of my question for the Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec). How can the government allow the private sector to pay half of the cost and go over the heads of municipalities, RCMs and local authorities, which are, once again, responsible for managing most of these community recreational facilities?
Why does the government think that it is okay to deal directly with the private sector rather than the municipalities, county corporations or RCMs in Quebec? Why is the government going over the heads of local government?
That was the point of my question, but the minister answered that the government would respect its partners. In the budget, however, the government is taking on a new partner, the private sector, which will have the opportunity to pay half the cost of a facility that belongs to a not-for-profit entity, a municipality or an RCM, which means that these facilities could be paid for by the private sector.