Mr. Speaker, I would quickly like to remind my colleague that we did not intend to criticize the Canadian armed forces. The first mayor I spoke with after the election was the mayor of Saint-Basile-le-Grand, Mr. Bernard Gagnon. He reiterated some points, with which I was very much in agreement, such as the fact that members of the Canadian armed forces did an exceptional job helping the victims.
I would remind my hon. colleague that the question was whether the government would send the Canadian Forces to help with the cleanup, and that was not done. I will again repeat the comments of the Minister of Public Safety, who said that the Canadian armed forces would not help the victims clean up because he did not want the Canadian Forces to compete with the private sector. The people who came were not from the private sector. Our own people mobilized. They were from the public sector, the firefighters and blue-collar workers. It was our municipalities that rallied around us. Unfortunately, the government was unable to provide the assistance required.