Mr. Speaker, I would note it was back in 2008 that the Liberal Party recommended that this matter first be sent to the Supreme Court for it to decide whether it was constitutional. The Conservatives followed our lead and that is fine. My problem is that they seem to be assuming that the Supreme Court will decide in their favour.
The Conservatives have already spent about one-third of $1 billion on this enterprise. There was $2.8 million in the supplementary estimates in 2008, $154 million in budget 2009, and $161 million in budget 2010. It seems that the Conservatives are acting out of disrespect for the Quebec provincial government in assuming that this will go through and charging ahead with one-third of $1 billion.
Why are the Conservatives gambling one-third of $1 billion of taxpayers' money on an enterprise which will simply go down the drain should the Supreme Court decide against the government?