Madam Speaker, this problem is truly quite simple. The Bloc Québécois' solution is the only realistic option on the table.
In the Liberals' proposed change I see another example of their tendency to contradict themselves, as they did yesterday. Their words fell on deaf ears for two months on the importance of women's rights when it comes to reproduction and contraception.
This is the same Liberal Party which, last year, voted with the Conservatives to deprive women of their right to equal pay for work of equal value. Now they are trying to pass a private member's bill that has no chance of getting passed in the Senate. In the first instance, they voted against their own leader last night, which is unheard of in the history of this Parliament.
This is the same Liberal Party that rises today to say that it is indeed true that we were ripped off by Canadian National, but we will only make it pay for half the costs. That means that there are enough people on the board of directors at Canadian National who are cozy with the Liberals to say that, even though they are wrong, we will find a way for them to be right. The issue before us today is simply a matter of whether a corporation that made an acquisition for $1 and received huge compensation in the form of land, has the right to take advantage of Canadian taxpayers by refusing to do the work that is clearly part of the contract with CN.
Sometimes the Bloc has some very harsh things to say about my colleague from Lévis—Bellechasse, which I do not necessarily agree with entirely. I want to help him by inviting him to think next time he speaks in the House. When we are discussing a specific matter, he should make an effort to stay on topic. He rose earlier to talk to us about Rouge et Or football, when we were talking about repairing the Quebec Bridge, which is at risk of falling down if we continue to do nothing about it. He really lacks seriousness when we are talking about matters of great public interest.
The fact that the federal government has been in court since 2007 shows that even the Conservatives know that Canadian National is at fault and did not respect its commitment. The minister's assistant admitted that although it had committed to complete the work in 10 years, only one third of the painting had been done; two thirds remain to be done.
It started out wrong. It was as though they just had to ask a few summer students to paint the bridge. We are talking about protecting infrastructure. As strange and implausible as it sounds in a society as advanced as ours, a structure that was built nearly a century ago will collapse because we are not smart enough to agree on how to maintain it. I am not making that up. This is what is going on with the Quebec Bridge.
I would like to have heard the member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier on this issue, since he used to be quite vocal about his suggestions on a radio talk show back in the day. I lived in Quebec City in the 1970s and 1980s. I cannot believe that after years of discussions and delays, we still have not reached an agreement.
One of the two parties is not respecting the contract, and instead of taking action, the government is dragging it out in court. I am a lawyer and I have nothing against appearing in court; it is good for the profession. But seriously, it is not good for anyone if a structure this vital to Quebec's second-largest city, which just happens to be its national capital, were to become unusable overnight.
The weakest and most incorrect argument I heard came from the minister's assistant. He repeatedly said that CN has reassured us that the bridge is fine.
CN is a company that does not keep its promises. What do they expect it to say? The government is taking CN to court because it is made up of a bunch of liars, yet the government believes the company when it says that everything is fine, that the bridge probably will not fall down, and that everything will probably be okay.
The minister's assistant went to see the bridge with the member for Lévis—Bellechasse five years ago, and he said that everything seemed fine to him. What was he basing that assessment on? Is there nobody in Canada who is capable of carrying out an objective analysis? People who have seen the dilapidated state of this crucial piece of infrastructure for themselves know how gullible we would have to be to take CN's word for it. The government is responsible for protecting the public. Earlier, the member for Westmount—Ville-Marie was talking about engineers and their rings, a tradition that goes back to one of the beams that fell when the bridge collapsed. All I can say is that the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec has one single mandate: to protect the public.
I was the member for Laval for 13 or 14 years, and there were all kinds of issues in my riding during that time. CNN ran stories about the City of Laval twice, both times because infrastructure had collapsed, taking human lives. Can anyone blame us for doubting what CN says about everything being okay and unlikely to fall down? Maybe it is time we put people first.
I would like to congratulate the Bloc Québécois member on this very practical motion. I disapprove of the Liberals' attempt to water it down and render it meaningless by suggesting that the burden should be shared. In the name of protecting people and preserving communications across this vast nation, I call on the government to shoulder its responsibilities and resume the process of taking control of this property for one dollar, along with all of the land given to compensate CN, which has turned out to be an unreliable partner. The government must start acting in the public interest rather than in the interest of its business partners, which have proven themselves to be unreliable when it comes to the public interest.