Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to speak to Motion No. 423, presented by the hon. member for Louis-Hébert, regarding the acquisition of the Quebec Bridge from Canadian National Railway.
I just want to say that this is not a game. This is a very serious issue to the people of Quebec and all Canadians in relation to this particular bridge. Therefore, I resent the fact that the Bloc member would actually refer to this as a game.
As the House knows, Motion No. 423 was last debated on December 1, 2009, and it reads as follows:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should purchase the Pont de Québec for one dollar and commit to quickly finishing the repair work so as to respect its importance as a historical monument and vital transportation link for the Quebec City region.
CN is the owner of the Quebec Bridge and is certainly responsible for its operation, maintenance and safety. The Government of Canada recognizes the very importance of maintaining the Quebec Bridge in good condition, like all bridges and all the infrastructure in this country, the great investments we have made represent that. We are taking steps to find a solution that will lead to restoration work on the bridge being completed and completed as soon as possible.
We recognize that the Quebec Bridge is an important historical structure as well and a vital transportation link, as mentioned by the member of the NDP. Built in the early part of the last century, it is the longest standing cantilever bridge in the world and it stands as a testament to the expertise and the dedication of the many Quebeckers and Canadians who helped construct it.
I can tell this House that after hearing from the Conservative member from Quebec City and the member from the Bloc, that the Bloc will never be able to deliver results to any Quebeckers. It is the Conservative MPs who deliver real results, as we have seen from the good work of the member for Lévis—Bellechasse. We have seen that time and time again. I have had an opportunity to visit his riding and I have seen the Lévis Convention Centre and other things that he has brought to the riding. He does excellent work in representing his constituents.
In 1987, the Canadian and American Society of Civil Engineers actually declared the Quebec Bridge an historic monument, and this is the testament of the bridge as well. In 1996, the bridge was declared a national historic site of Canada.
The Quebec Bridge continues to provide an important rail and roadway link between both shores of the St. Lawrence, connecting communities, businesses and families in the area on a daily basis. The bridge is nearly 1,000 metres long and consists of a three-lane roadway and a single rail line. Thousands of vehicles do pass over it every day and, indeed, CN and VIA trains use the rail line on a daily basis. The Quebec Bridge is an important historic symbol and transportation link that continues to play a key role in the economic and social viability of the region and, indeed, of all Canada.
Before discussing various efforts on behalf of the government on what we have done in the short period of time that we have been involved in this file, I would reiterate that CN is the owner of this bridge. CN is responsible for its operation, maintenance and safety. CN has confirmed to the government that the bridge is in good condition and, based on recent inspections, that there are no immediate concerns with the condition of the bridge, the safety of the bridge or the people using it.
Fully completed in 1918, the Quebec Bridge quickly formed part of the Canadian government railways. In the early 1920s, the Government of Canada conferred the operation and management of all Canadian government railway lands, including the Quebec Bridge, to CN, a newly formed crown corporation at that time. The CN management operation is no stranger to this particular asset. Essentially, CN has been operating and managing the Quebec Bridge for more than 80 years.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Government of Canada began divesting itself of transportation assets and removing itself from the direct involvement of delivering transportation services because, in part, people locally do a better job than the provinces and certainly the cities of managing those assets.
Accordingly, in 1993, Transport Canada entered into an agreement with the Canadian National Railway to transfer title to the railway company of all Canadian government railway lands across Canada for $1. It was a great deal. One of the assets transferred to CN under this agreement was the Quebec Bridge. In exchange for this, CN agreed to undertake a major restoration of the Quebec Bridge itself and, to ensure its long-term viability, the government then completed the transfer of the bridge to CN finally in 1995 at the time of CN's privatization.
To be clear, CN became the full owner of the Quebec Bridge in 1995, some 15 years ago. At that time, it assumed responsibility for the bridge's restoration, operation, maintenance and safety, and was fully aware that it was taking on that responsibility. As mentioned, CN received generous compensation in 1993, in the form of land transfers to assume all of these responsibilities.
Even though CN owns the Quebec Bridge and it is their responsibility, the Government of Canada recognizes the importance of maintaining the structure in good condition and is making significant efforts to see this objective is achieved.
In 1997, to help CN meet its obligations, the government signed a tripartite agreement with CN and the Quebec government to fund a 10 year, $60 million restoration program for the Quebec Bridge. This has been ongoing for some period of time. The amount of funding was based on CN's estimates of the cost of the restoration work. The total commitments over 10 years were as follows: The Government of Canada, $6 million; the Government of Quebec, $18 million; and Canadian National Railway, $36 million, toward the restoration of this project.
CN had entire control of the project. It had full control over the entire work program for the bridge. The $60 million budget was depleted at the end of 2005 without the project being completed. Approximately 60% of the bridge surface has still not yet been painted. In addition, work on some elements of the structure has not been completed.
In the Government of Canada's opinion, the relevant agreements envision the completion of the painting and infrastructure work for this project. To maintain the Quebec Bridge in good condition and protect the interests of the taxpayers and people of Quebec, the Government of Canada believes that CN should complete the restoration work on the bridge.
CN owns the bridge and was compensated for taking responsibility for the bridge and restoring it. CN committed to completely restoring the bridge and ensuring its long-term viability at that time, some 15 years ago.
The Government of Canada has made several other attempts to work with CN to find a solution that would lead to the restoration work on the bridge being completed. However, quite frankly, those efforts have not been successful.
As a last resort, this government initiated court proceedings in February 2007 to compel Canadian National to fulfill its obligation to completely restore the bridge. These court proceedings, as mentioned, are still ongoing. The Government of Canada hopes that these proceedings against CN will lead to a satisfactory conclusion, with the railway company completing the restoration work on the bridge and ensuring its long-term viability.
The Canadian and Quebec taxpayers deserve this. They deserve no less than to have their tax dollars protected. Canadian National received generous compensation to take responsibility for the bridge and the taxpayers contributed funding, even then, toward the bridge's restoration program.
To conclude, the Government of Canada acknowledges that the Quebec Bridge is an important historical symbol as well as an essential transportation link. It recognizes the importance of keeping the Quebec Bridge in good working order. As mentioned, Canadian National has confirmed that the bridge is in good condition and, based on recent inspections, there are no immediate concerns about its condition.
The government is well aware of the situation with the Quebec Bridge. In fact, the member from Lévis took me on a tour of the bridge some four or five years ago when he was first elected. I had a firsthand chance to look at this in my role as parliamentary secretary. I know firsthand that he has brought it to the minister's attention on numerous occasions, so we are working on it.
Before I close, I should also note that the Bloc Québécois has changed opinions on how to resolve the Quebec Bridge issue no less than three times in recent years. That is the Bloc's record. It flip-flops from issue to issue. I wonder what new idea will be proposed in 2010 after it becomes tired of this one.
Fortunately, our government is taking a reasonable and serious approach to address the Quebec Bridge issue, one that aims to protect taxpayers, taxpayers' dollars, and their interests, and to find a solution that will lead to the bridge being completely restored to the satisfaction of the people of Quebec.